Global revenue for the Broadband Access Equipment market fell to $4.5 billion in the third quarter of 2025, declining 3 percent quarter-over-quarter and 5 percent year-over-year. Despite sustained growth in new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) CPE shipments, the momentum was not strong enough to counter revenue declines in DOCSIS infrastructure and PON OLT platforms.
Jeff Heynen, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group, noted that FWA remains a standout performer in the broadband market. He said providers across the United States continue to attract cable subscribers, while operators in India are expanding broadband availability across densely populated urban regions. Though 5G Sub-6 GHz CPE shipments dominate today, mmWave unit deployments are rising in select markets as operators explore higher-capacity solutions.
Below is a detailed look at the major trends from the 3Q 2025 Broadband Access and Home Networking report.
FWA Growth Continues Despite Market-Wide Decline
Fixed Wireless Access remains the strongest growth driver in the broadband equipment ecosystem. Operators are accelerating investments in both Sub-6 GHz and emerging mmWave CPE to support subscriber gains and improve coverage. The increasing reliance on FWA reflects broader shifts in broadband adoption, especially in markets where fiber rollout remains slow or expensive.
However, the overall broadband access market still contracted as weakness in legacy and hybrid-fiber-coax platforms outweighed FWA gains.
Wi-Fi 7 Residential Router and CPE Spending Surges
One of the standout trends in Q3 was the sharp increase in spending on Residential Wi-Fi 7 routers and broadband CPE with WLAN support. Spending increased 124 percent year-over-year, with total unit shipments hitting a record high.
Much of this volume was driven by dual-band Wi-Fi 7 devices in China and other low-ARPU geographies, where operators are upgrading home connectivity to support higher-capacity broadband and new consumer applications.
This surge underscores the accelerated adoption of Wi-Fi 7 as operators prepare home networks for higher speeds, multi-gigabit services, and increasingly dense device environments.
DOCSIS Infrastructure Spending Continues to Plummet
DOCSIS spending continued its steep decline, falling 31 percent year-over-year. The downturn reflects ongoing softness in spending on Remote PHY Devices and a slowdown in new investments in Remote OLT modules and nodes.
Cable operators remain cautious as they balance strategic investment in DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades with competitive pressures from FWA and fiber providers. The weak investment environment indicates that many operators are pacing their infrastructure spending while reassessing long-term access strategies.
Market Outlook
The Q3 numbers reinforce broader industry dynamics:
FWA adoption continues to rise globally.
Wi-Fi 7 is emerging as a critical upgrade cycle for residential networks.
Legacy DOCSIS infrastructure faces sustained pressure as operators diversify access technologies.
As 2026 approaches, market recovery will depend on the pace of fiber deployments, operator investment cycles, and the continued expansion of FWA in both developed and emerging markets.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
