Taiwan data comms sector posts $913M in shipment value

According to Taiwan-based Market Intelligence Center (MIC), the domestic shipment value for data communications industry reached $913 million in Q1 of 2003. LAN shipment value, which includes NICs (network interface cards), routers, WLAN NICs and access points, and SOHO routers, accounted for 56 percent of the total domestic value, while 44 percent came from WAN products, such as analog modems, xDSL, and cable modems. Due to unpredicted factors and a continued fall in prices, the total data communications industry shipment volume is expected to drop by 15 percent in Q2 of 2003, accounting to $899 million, MIC said.

WLAN share of LAN shipment value saw a pronounced rise, from 24.9 percent in 2002 to 29.2 percent in Q1 of 2003. The improvement in value was brought by growth in the global demand since Q2 of 2002, and the increased outsourcing from WLAN vendors, MIC revealed.

On the other hand, analog modems, xDSL, and cable modems respectively accounted for 26.5 percent, 53.8 percent, and 19.7 percent of the local WAN industry shipment value in Q1 of 2003. Analog and cable modems comprised a lower share than seen in 2H of 2002, while xDSL witnessed sizeable gains in share. The drop in analog modem share was particularly dramatic due to acceleration of broadband demand. xDSL and cable modem are gradually replacing analog modems to become the mainstream Internet access device.

According to MIC, the rapid growth in xDSL value was attributable to strong global demand coupled with steady outsourcing from xDSL vendors and broadband service providers. Share of xDSLs exceeded 50 percent of the total WAN industry value.