This indicates the largest annual decline in over 20 years, with a decline of over 20% seen back in 2002. This has led to a total equipment revenue decrease of 14% over the past two years.
The decline was widespread across telecom segments and was influenced by factors such as excess inventory, a challenging macro environment, and tough 5G comparisons. In the fourth quarter of 2024, growth in North America and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) helped stabilize the market, offsetting weak demand in the Asia Pacific, including China.
The decline in 2024 varied across the six telecom segments. Optical transport, SP routers, and RAN experienced double-digit contractions, shrinking by 14% collectively. Microwave transport and MCN experienced a more moderate decline in the low single digits, while broadband access revenues remained relatively stable.
Regional trends in 2024 were mixed. While all five regions—North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, China, and the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA)—experienced slow growth, the decline was most significant in the broader Asia Pacific region due to challenging conditions in China and other parts of the Asia Pacific.
Globally, supplier rankings remained mostly unchanged; however, revenue shares shifted slightly. For example, Huawei’s revenue share outside of China increased by 2-to-3 percentage points (PP) in 2024 compared to 2021.
Market concentration remained stable, with the top eight suppliers making up around 80% of the global market in 2024. Market conditions are expected to stabilize in 2025, although it will still be a challenging year. Analysts predict that global telecom equipment revenues across the six sectors will remain flat.
