The global telecommunications equipment market remains on pace to jump up to 10% this year, generating as much as $100 billion in total revenue, according to Dell’Oro Group. 

The top seven suppliers remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2021, but position of rank and global market share percentages shifted. Huawei is still the largest global telecom vendor with a 27% market share, but it’s lost nearly a 5% share since early 2020, according to the firm’s analysis.

“Robust acceleration in the North America region overall during Q1 is helping to explain some of the global share changes between 2020 and Q1, including Huawei’s share losses,” Stefan Pongratz, VP at Dell’Oro Group, wrote in response to questions.

The gap in market shares commanded by Nokia and Ericsson, which was about 5 percentage points in 2015, evaporated during Q1. Nokia’s steady decline and Ericsson’s rise matched up during the quarter with the Finnish and Swedish operator both ending the period with 16% of the total market, according to Dell’Oro Group.

ZTE ended Q1 with a 9% market share, followed by Cisco at 6%, and Samsung and Ciena each claiming 3% of the market. Samsung earned enough telecom revenue during the quarter to pass Ciena, making it the No. 6 global telecom equipment supplier, Dell’Oro Group noted. 

“For both Ericsson and Samsung, the radio access network (RAN) market is a significant driver of the overall share gains for both companies — Ericsson’s North America RAN position has improved by five to 10 percentage points over the past five years, reflecting its improved market position in the U.S.,” Pongratz explained.

The top seven suppliers of telecom infrastructure equipment, which includes broadband access, microwave and optical transport, mobile core, RAN, and service provider routers and switches, captured about 80% of the total market during the quarter. 

The entire market increased 15% year over year during the quarter, according to Dell’Oro Group. Each category included in the firm’s analysis experienced double-digit growth on a year-over-year basis in both wireless and wireline technologies. Growth in the North America and Asia Pacific regions surpassed 15%, the analysts added.

“The shift from 4G to 5G continued to accelerate at a torrid pace, impacting not just RAN investments but is also spurring operators to upgrade their core and transport networks,” the analysts wrote in a report. 

Multiple vendors told Dell’Oro Group that impacts from supply chain constraints through the second half of 2021 are unclear, but the firm added that none of the suppliers reported any material impact from ongoing global shortages.

As a result of the stronger-than-expected performance, particularly sales in broadband access, microwave transport, RAN, routers and switches, Dell’Oro Group is revising its aggregate forecast upward by as much as 5% for the year. 

Total revenue for the global telecom equipment market was in the range of $90 billion to $95 billion in 2020. The analysts now expect the market to brush right up to a maximum worldwide revenue of $100 billion by the end of 2021.