Taiwan’s WiMAX CPE Industry Shipment Growth Expected to Accelerate in 2Q '09

(Top News, 28 May 2009)

According to research of the Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) conducted as part of the ITIS project, shipment volume of the Taiwanese WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) industry reached approximately 264,000 units in the first quarter of 2009, roughly maintaining the shipment level of the previous quarter. 16e products were mainstream in the industry's shipment in the first quarter, which was mainly due to their product compatibility and new product tenders in 2009. The industry's shipment volume is expected to reach 413,000 units in the second quarter of 2009 and 485,000 units in the third quarter of 2009.

Even though shipment volume of the Taiwanese WiMAX CPE industry maintained the level of the previous quarter, the industry's shipment value declined 22.4 percent sequentially to $29.5 million. This was mainly due to the fact that many manufacturers reduced prices in order to compete for new cooperation opportunities and tenders in 2009, which caused the ASP (average selling price) of the industry to fall rapidly.
The shipment share of 16e products already exceeded 90 percent in the first quarter of 2009. According to MIC Industry Analyst Xiang-Yu Yen, "16d shipment volume is seeing large-scale declines, mainly due to product compatibility issues and new tenders. As 16e products feature downward compatibility, companies adopt 16e products for 16d networks. The large-scale decline of 16d tenders is also contributing to the fall in 16d shipments. In the future, shipment growth momentum will mainly come from 16e products."

Shipment growth momentum in the second quarter of 2009 is expected to increase, as WiMAX network deployment in regions around the world is becoming more comprehensive. Carriers such as UQ in Japan and Packet One in Malaysia are already in trial operations or commercial operations. Demand from WiMAX operators in emerging markets is also expected to stimulate WiMAX CPE growth.

According to MIC, WiMAX CPE orders for Taiwan's industry from different regions started to increase in the second half of the first quarter. Originally, demand was unclear due to the economic downturn, and manufacturers had become more conservative in terms of material procurement. As material procurement was thus insufficient, the new orders only made a small contribution to the industry's shipment in the first quarter. Shipment of these orders was delayed to the second and third quarter. Meanwhile, in 2008 Taiwanese equipment makers invested in making their products interoperable with major international vendors, and they also gained experience in 16e product and network terminal testing. These factors will help Taiwanese equipment manufacturers to obtain international WiMAX CPE orders, stimulating shipment growth in the second and third quarter.