Markets for routers and switches enjoying a robust year

There’s healthy growth to be had in service provider routers and switches, according to third quarter data from three market research firms.

The market for routers and switches combined grew 11% from the second quarter, and 28% from the third quarter of 2003, according to Infonetics Research. The total market was $1.6 billion in 2004 third quarter, according to the firm, which expects it to grow to $8.4 billion in 2007, a 15% CAGR.

Sales of service provider core and edge routers grew 11% sequentially, to $983 million, according to Synergy Research. Cisco’s revenue grew 10% and Juniper’s grew 19%, while No. 3 player Avici’s dropped 78%, from $11.4 million to $2.5 million, the firm found.

Avici just ousted its CEO following its dreadful third quarter.

Avici’s share of the market dropped from 1.3% to .3%, while Cisco eased down to 64.6% from 65.2%. Juniper gained almost two points in share, moving from 24.8% to 26.6%, Synergy found.

Sales of high-end routers – 10G bit/sec and above – grew 33% in the third quarter to $347 million, according to Dell’Oro Group. Cisco’s revenue grew 25% while Juniper’s leaped up 57%, an indication that Juniper’s T640 platform continues to gain traction two years after shipping while Cisco customers work to transition from the older GSR to the brand new CRS-1 systems.

Cisco lost two points in core router market share to 58%, while Juniper gained six points to 36% in the third quarter, according to Infonetics.

Cisco fared better in edge routers. It’s share of the $546 million market in the third quarter rose from 58.3% to 61.1%, while Juniper’s declined less that 1% – from 25.4% to 24.5%, according to Synergy.

Sales of multiservice switches was up 9% in the third quarter and 24% year-over-year, with most of the growth coming from the multiservice edge, according to Infonetics. However, overall router growth continues to outpace multiservice switch increases, the firm found.