The global DSL business has hit a speed bump -- down by two million ports in the second quarter -- but it is poised to recover, according to a report released Tuesday by the Dell'Oro Group.
"DSL is growing more rapidly than cable broadband," said Tam Dell'Oro, CEO and founder of the market research firm. "But the number of DSL port shipments for the second quarter shrank to approximately 12 million."
Both DSL and cable broadband are growing by millions of ports each quarter, Dell'Oro said.
She believes the current dip in DSL port shipments is a correction. "The decline was broad-based, affected most manufacturers, and occurred most notably in Europe, followed by Asia. This correction could last another quarter as there is still more capacity than subscribers."
Dell'Oro noted the idiosyncrasy of the North American broadband market where cable broadband is more widespread than DSL than elsewhere in the world where cable is a non-starter. "Cable is primarily a North American opportunity," she said. "That's because some years ago, cable operators felt threatened by satellite and laid coaxial cable. There's very little cable in Europe or Asia."
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