“Optical equipment revenue in China took a sharp turn for the worse in 3Q 2021,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “As a result, optical revenue in China declined at a double-digit rate in the quarter, resulting in a 9 percent decline for the first nine months of 2021. At this rate, we are expecting a full year optical market contraction in the country. Something that has not occurred since 2012. Helping to offset some of this lower equipment revenue from China was the robust demand in North America, Europe, and Latin America.”

“The RAN market remains on track for a fourth consecutive year of robust growth, underpinned by healthy demand for connectivity”, said Stefan Pongratz, analyst with the Dell’Oro Group. “At the same time, more challenging comparisons combined with increased risks surrounding the supply chain will weigh on the market in 2022,” continued Pongratz.

Even with some decoupling taking place between capex and equipment revenue growth trends in the first half, we expect the relationship to remain significant going forward,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President with the Dell’Oro Group.