Expenditures by North American cloud and colocation operators on optical and packet transport equipment declined 20 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20), while incumbent operator spending increased 2 percent, according to the 3Q20 Transport Customer Markets Report from market research firm Cignal AI.
“Equipment suppliers to cloud operators report that sales in the third quarter were depressed because service providers absorbed capacity on networks that were built during the first half of 2020,” said Scott Wilkinson, lead analyst at Cignal AI. “Both incumbent and cloud operators, especially in North America, spent significantly more of their annual budget than typical in the first half of the year.”
More Key Findings from the 3Q20 Transport Customer Markets Report
- After uncharacteristically strong growth in 2Q20, sales to cloud and colocation operators in Asia Pacific (APAC) rose dramatically again in the third quarter
- Despite a year-over-year decline in sales, Ciena maintained its worldwide market share leadership in sales to cloud and colocation operators in 3Q20
- The fourth quarter is expected to be challenging for sales outside APAC, with traditional telco and cloud and colocation purchases anticipated to wane worldwide
https://cignal.ai/2020/12/3q20-transport-customer-markets-report/