Ericsson is still stretching its lead of the core network infrastructure market with steady growth in 2012 giving it a market share of 29%, ABI Research states.
The research firm notes Ericsson is pulling away from its rivals in the core infrastructure sector. Second and third places are occupied by Nokia Siemens Networks and Cisco respectively, and the three firms’ combined share accounts for at least 55% of the total market in 2012.
Principal analyst Joe Hoffman notes Ericsson’s market share may be intimidating to its rivals, but adds that there is “still a lot of track ahead, and the race will tighten up as vendors aggressively rollout NFV/SDN [Network Function Virtualization/Software Defined Networking] in the back stretch.” NVF and SDN are tipped as an opportunity for new vendors to enter the infrastructure market, and also where current firms can make up ground on the current leaders.
ABI forecasts strong demand for expanding the capacity of 3G networks and deployment of 4G infrastructure will make the market for mobile kit worth $2 billion (€1.5 billion) in 2014, with further growth predicted through 2016.