The service provider router and switch market — including IP edge routers, IP core routers, carrier Ethernet switches (CES), and ATM switches — grew 5% from 2Q10 to 3Q10, to $3.3 billion worldwide, according to a new report from Infonetics. 
The growth was led by the North American IP edge and core router market, which rose 41% year-over-year (3Q10 over 3Q09). The overall carrier router and switch market was up 21% year-over-year. Market leaders Cisco and Alcatel-Lucent posted double-digit percent sequential increases in carrier router revenue in 3Q10. Meanwhile, Huawei and Juniper also posted carrier router gains in 3Q10, with revenue up in the single-digit percents.
“North America is helping lead the telecom world out of the economic doldrums, with EMEA coming along quickly, as evidenced by the carrier router and switch market. Cisco accounted for the largest part of the third quarter revenue upswing, and Alcatel-Lucent added solid quarterly gains, both driven by IP edge router sales. The third quarter bore good news, and we believe the fourth quarter will be even better,” predicts Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst for carrier and data center networks at Infonetics Research.
http://www.infonetics.com
