As more consumers purchase an array of tablet computers, Internet-enabled TVs and other devices to access online content and communicate via social networking sites like Facebook, the sales of home networking gateways and routers continue to rise.
According to Infonetics' new Home Networking Devices report, North America "captured 37% of networking device revenue in 2011."
A big factor in that region's growing trend is the sale of Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA)-enabled devices such as set-top boxes, Fiber to the Business optical network terminals (ONTs) and WiFi broadband routers. Cable operators and telcos--mainly Verizon (NYSE: VZ)--are using MoCA devices as the foundation to distribute services like whole-home DVR in the home.
On a global basis, home networking device sales grew 20 percent in 2011 from 2010, to $7.98 billion. And as more end-users purchase tablets and other connected devices that they use connect to the Internet to purchase and watch content, the research firm forecasts that during the period 2012-2016, a cumulative $43 billion will be spent on home network devices.
"We expect the demand for broadband peripherals, especially those with integrated MoCA chips, to continue to increase globally as operators in all regions roll out new home automation, energy management, entertainment, and communications services that require high-end networking devices," said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research.
From a vendor perspective, the market continues to be dominated by D-Link with NETGEAR (Nasdaq: NTGR) and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) taking the number two and three spots.
For service providers, MoCA and other "no new wires" approaches that leverage existing home wiring or WiFi continue to be attractive options to not only deliver multiple services to consumers without requiring long technician sessions to rewire a home to deploy new video and data services.
For more:
- see the release
Related articles:
Week in research: Broadband subscriptions pass 600M; smart home opportunity broadens
Entropic marries MoCA and Wi-Fi in new adapters
NTT's Japan-US backbone capacity reaches 600 Gbps; IEEE proposes all-in-one home networking standard
Cisco realigns home networking to focus on WiFi routers