Routing, switching and voice markets falter in Q3

European softness drags down shipments and ASPs as customers shun refreshes

The core voice and data markets of routers, switches and PBXs endured a tough third quarter, with shipment levels and average selling prices taking a hit, research has found.

Figures from Infonetics Research find that the value of the PBX market shrank 5.6 per cent annually in Q3 2012, with revenue declining faster than shipments. The quarter marked the first time that the average revenue generated per PBX line fell below $200 (£125). The EMEA market was picked out as the market worst affected by continued economic softness. Cisco maintained its global market share lead for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC and IMS at Infonetics, said: "This has been a tough year for the enterprise telephony market. Quarterly year-over-year declines continue as businesses push out spending where existing telephony solutions still get the job done. That said, unified communication applications have been a real sweet spot."

The worldwide service provider routing and switching market also suffered in Q3, as sales declined five per cent year on year to a little under $3.4bn. Cisco again holds on to a dominant lead in the router space, but the race for podium places continues to be closely fought. Juniper leapt from fourth to second during the quarter, with Huawei going the other way and Alcatel-Lucent holding firm in third. Between them, the leading quartet accounts for 88 per cent of global sales.

Michael Howard, Infonetics' principal analyst for carrier networks, said: "EMEA posted another negative quarter amid the ongoing fiscal crisis in Europe, and we may not see much of the usual final-quarter budget flush, as it seems just as the European Commission gets closer to economic steadiness, more negative reports arrive."