Gartner Dataquest Says Worldwide Cable Modem Shipments Reached Nearly 2 Million Units in Second Quarter 2000
San Jose, Calif., September 27, 2000 — Despite component constraints, worldwide cable modem market shipments totaled nearly 2 million units in the second quarter of 2000, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB). While many manufacturers did well in the quarter, some vendors could not fulfill demand because of a shortage on key parts.
"Given constraints on the availability of radio frequency (RF) tuners, flash memory, among other components, most vendors reported that they could have shipped at least 30 to 35 percent more units in the face of unquenchable worldwide demand for broadband cable access devices," said Patti Reali, senior analyst for Gartner Dataquest's e-Remote Access Worldwide program. "Vendors that diversified their component sourcing were able to meet demand and picked up the slack from vendors that could not deliver against demand."
Motorola Broadband Communications remained atop the leader board with 32.5 percent of the market (see Table 1). The company continued to do well in the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) space, where it was also the No. 1 vendor. More vendors are entering the DOCSIS segment, so Gartner Dataquest analysts said Motorola Broadband Communications should expect to see increasing challenges in this market.
Table 1
Worldwide Cable Modem CPE Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates, 2Q/00
(Thousands of Units)
Company2Q/00
Shipments		2Q/00
Market Share (%)
Motorola Broadband Communications65032.5
Terayon27113.6
3Com25412.7
Com211849.2
Toshiba America1507.5
Others49024.5
Total Market1,999100.0

Source: Gartner Dataquest (September 2000)
Cable customer-premise equipment (CPE) based on the DOCSIS standard continued to have the most growth, out-shipping proprietary devices by more than two to one. DOCSIS accounted for 68 percent of worldwide cable modem shipments in the second quarter. Thirty-one percent of shipments were proprietary, while Digital Video Broadcasting/Digital Audio-Visual Council (DVB/DAVIC) cable modems increased slightly from the previous quarter representing 0.4 percent of all shipments.
Gartner Dataquest analysts see some easing of component shortages and growth rates of 40 percent next quarter and 45 percent in the fourth quarter of 2000. If this happens, worldwide cable modem shipments have the potential to achieve 10 million units by the end of 2000.
Additional analysis is available in the Gartner Dataquest Alert "Global Cable Modem Shipments Flirt With 2 Million Mark, Register 35 Percent Growth During 2Q00 Despite Component Shortages." This Alert provides detailed analysis and statistics for the worldwide cable modem market. To purchase the document or subscribe to Gartner Dataquest programs, please call 800-419-DATA, or 408-468-8009. More information about Gartner Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.dataquest.com.
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