North American Wireless CAPEX Slumped by 18% in Q3

Ovum RHK has posted its analysis of third-quarter 2007 revenue and capital spending by North American network operators. The research firm says that wireline operators increased capital spending by 7 percent versus the third quarter of 2006, while mobile operator capital spending plummeted 18 percent. Revenues remained on trend, with mobile revenue growing nearly 10 percent, and fixed revenue basically flat versus last year.

"Third-quarter growth in wireline capex provided welcome relief to equipment vendors, who experienced strong growth in the optical networking and switching and routing segments," said John Lively, Vice President, Forecasting, at Ovum RHK. "Mobile capex hit a real pothole, led by Sprint Nextel. With mobile capital intensity at a seven-year low, however, there is room for a rebound in 4Q07."

3Q07 highlights for North American network operators:

• Wireline revenues = $43.8 billion, up 0.5% versus 3Q06
• Wireline capex = $7.4 billion, up 7.4% versus 3Q06
• Mobile revenues = $37.9 billion, up 9.6% versus 3Q06
• Mobile capex = $4.7 billion, down 18.2% versus 3Q06

Ovum RHK's global forecast of service provider capital spending will be updated in December.

Posted to the site on 15th November 2007