Global sales of home networking devices grew by 20 per cent last year to reach $7.98bn, with North America taking the largest slice (37 per cent) thanks to the adoption of Multimedia over Coax (MoCA) technology by the cable operators and telcos, according to a report from US firm Infonetics Research.
Infonetics expects a cumulative $43bn to be spent on home networking devices over the next five years, as the growth of tablets and other devices in home networks spurs demand for additional connectivity options.
MoCA embedded set-top boxes (STBs), FTTB optical network terminals (ONTs), coax-Ethernet adapters, and wifi broadband routers are identified as growth drivers in the home networking device market.
“Tablets, connected TVs, digital media players, and a growing list of other devices are driving sales of home networking devices, and this is nowhere more apparent than in North America, which captured 37 per cent of networking device revenue in 2011,” said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research.
“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.”
D-Link extended its revenue share lead in the highly competitive broadband router market last year, followed by NETGEAR and Cisco, according to the report.