Telecom equipment market

Companies in the global telecom equipment market supply products and services to telecom operators, original equipment manufacturers and network infrastructure builders.

Two segments – wireline and wireless

The telecom services industry can be divided into two broad segments; wireline (fixed line) and wireless.
 
The fixed line segment is more mature and has its origin from the networks built up by the incumbent (former state owned) telecom companies. These services have reached full penetration in large parts of the world and the positive drivers of the wireline segment today are broadband access (ADSL), video services and IP convergence.
 
The wireless segment consists of the terminal market (ie. mobile handsets, where Eltek is not present) and the infrastructure market. The wireless segment has experienced significant growth over the last decades driven by a significant increase in both capacity and coverage.

Overall market development

Global operator capital expenditure grew in 2008. Wireless investments accounted for the majority of the growth, which UBS estimated at 8 percent. Continued new geographic roll-outs, new generations of technology, and capacity upgrades in both mobile and broadband networks will drive investments going forward. However, operators are taking a more cautious outlook in the current financial and economic downturn and overall growth in capital expenditure is expected to decline in 2009 and 2010.

In Asia, wireless growth is expected to continue with India and China the main growth drivers

Energy systems

The market for telecom power systems is expected to mirror the overall telecom infrastructure market in general. However, power efficiency and density are becoming increasingly important drivers in developed markets such as North America and Western Europe, especially in the growing replacement market.

Transmission

In the transmission segment, Skylight Research maintains its growth forecasts for 2008-2013 at 12% per annum for microwave point-to-point radio equipment, with 2009 expected to come in at around 10% growth. This is based on both continued subscriber growth in emerging markets, and higher capacity requirements from advanced data services in developed countries.