Following a productive year in 2008, the telecom equipment market posted a decline worse than anticipated shrinking by 3.6% in infrastructure and by 9.9% in mobile handsets during 2009. In 2010, the global telecom equipment market growth rate is expected to remain stable as operators will still be cautious and wait for a gradual expected return to growth, reports Idate Research.

The year 2009 was without a doubt a tough one for the telecom equipment market, as anticipated. With the confirmation of the warnings that began being sent out in the summer of 2008, equipment manufacturers were heavily affected displaying weak or bad performances. In particular, Nortel now under bankruptcy has been the first victim of the gloomy market conditions

Indeed, with the new economic conditions investments schedules were carefully revised. And operators had to establish priorities in network expenses.

For the first time in 5 years, operators' capital expenditures declined in 2009 by 4.8%. The worldwide investment spending by telecom operators significantly decreased during 2009 totalling to EUR174 billion (US$212 billion). Both fixed and mobile CAPEX reduced, by -4.0% and -5.5% respectively. This decrease is a combination of facts with the strong US Dollar devaluations, the gloomy economic context, the end of a five year network infrastructure investment cycle, the weak momentum in broadband access backing and the awaited 3G licence auctions.

Operators' objectives in terms of very high speed broadband and mobile broadband penetrations will help boost up the telecom equipment market. Given the announcements made by major incumbents to massively deploy FTTx lines in the UK and USA, the fixed broadband access equipment market will increase gradually over the next two years and accelerate until 2015.

In 2010, the global telecom equipment market growth rate is expected to remain stable as operators will still be cautious and wait for a gradual expected return to growth. Basically, operators' expenses will be selective while keeping their investments in IP-based equipment and optical transmission in order to meet the ever-increasing bandwidth requirements of businesses and consumers. Operators' objectives in terms of very high speed broadband and mobile broadband penetrations will help boost up the telecom equipment market. Given the announcements made by major incumbents to massively deploy FTTx lines in the UK, Brazil and China, the fixed broadband access equipment market will increase gradually over the next two years and accelerate until 2015.

In the mobile sector, with LTE network deployment schedules and 3G/4G licenses awards - long awaited, the mobile access market is expected to slightly grow in 2010.