Residential Wi-Fi 7 Router Shipments Jump 73 Percent Y/Y
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – June 11, 2026 – According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, total global revenue for the Broadband Access equipment market reached $4.4 B in 1Q 2026, up 2 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) but down 8 percent from 4Q 2025. Major North American cable operators resumed their spending on DAA equipment as part of their DOCSIS 4.0 network evolution strategies, while operators also accelerating their purchases of residential Wi-Fi 7 routers and gateways to support their multi-gig service tiers.
“Cable operators paused their spending on DAA equipment in 2025 as they waited on upgraded platforms that incorporate the Unified DOCSIS 4.0 chipset,” said Jeff Heynen, Vice President with Dell’Oro Group. “With those platforms available, US cable operators are moving ahead quickly with their network evolution strategies and entering a phase of relatively high capital intensity,” explained Heynen.
Additional highlights from the 1Q 2026 Broadband Access and Home Networking quarterly report:
- Chinese vendors reported their first shipments of 50 Gbps PON OLT ports and ONTs, as over 150 pilot projects went live. These projects include enterprise campus, manufacturing facility, and high-end residential community deployments.
- Spending on PON OLT ports increased 6 percent Y/Y, as operators continue to expand their 10 Gbps capabilities through XG-PON and XGS-PON.
- Residential Wi-Fi 7 Router shipments jumped 73 percent Y/Y, driven by lower-cost dual-band units shipping in China and Southeast Asia, as well as US operators pulling forward purchases to support their multi-gig service offerings.
The Dell’Oro Group Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report provides a complete overview of the Broadband Access market with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port/unit shipments for Cable, DSL, and PON equipment. Covered equipment includes Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAP) and Distributed Access Architectures (DAA); Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers ([DSLAMs] by technology VDSL, VDSL Profile 35b, and G.FAST); PON Optical Line Terminals (OLTs), Cable, DSL, and PON CPE (Customer Premises Equipment); Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) CPE; and Residential WLAN Equipment, including Mesh Routers. For more information about the report, please contact dgsales@delloro.com.
Dell’Oro Group is a market research firm that specializes in strategic competitive analysis in the telecommunications, security, enterprise networks, data center infrastructure, and network security markets. Our firm provides in-depth quantitative data and qualitative analysis to facilitate critical, fact-based business decisions. For more information, contact Dell’Oro Group at +1.650.622.9400 or visit https://www.delloro.com.
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