Dell'Oro Group reports broadband access revenue rose in 4Q 2025

Dell'Oro Group reports global broadband access equipment revenue reached $4.8 billion in 4Q 2025, up 7 percent quarter-over-quarter and 2 percent year-over-year, a development relevant to operator and vendor investment planning.

Market Overview

The Dell'Oro Group report said total global revenue for the Broadband Access equipment market increased to $4.8 billion in 4Q 2025, up 7 percent quarter-over-quarter and 2 percent year-over-year. The report said the quarter's spending acceleration was not enough to push full-year 2025 into positive year-over-year growth.

Key Findings

“2025 ended up being the final year of a three-year cycle of reduced spending on broadband access equipment,” said Jeff Heynen, Vice President with Dell’Oro Group. “Over the last three years, broadband service providers have been carefully managing their equipment spending, focusing on subscriber acquisition and more measured footprint expansions. As a result, there was a clear shift in spend away from infrastructure and towards CPE,” explained Heynen.

Passive Optical Network (PON) ONT unit shipments reached 158 million, with nearly all regions recording year-over-year gains to support new subscriber growth. Spending on Data over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) infrastructure declined 21 percent from 2024, and spending on Remote PHY Devices dropped 47 percent for the year; residential 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) router shipments rose 211 percent in 2025.

Segment or Supplier Performance

The report noted a shift in spending away from infrastructure and toward Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) as service providers prioritized subscriber acquisition and measured footprint expansion.

Technology or Trend Analysis

The report said multiple-system operators plan Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) and DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades, and it said spending is expected to increase throughout 2026 as those upgrades accelerate.

Forecast or Analyst Outlook

The report characterized 2025 as the final year of a three-year cycle of reduced spending and described the fourth-quarter acceleration as an early indicator of what is expected to be a strong 2026.

The analyst note summarizes rising PON unit shipments, a decline in DOCSIS infrastructure spending, large growth in residential Wi-Fi 7 router shipments, and anticipated spending increases tied to DAA and DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades. This Analyst Signals brief reflects a neutral, fact-based summary of the original research note.