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Still a long way to go
July 12, 2006

"If things are so good, why do I feel so bad?"

Yesterday afternoon, I received a press release from  announcing "TIA's 2006 Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast," The release announced "The U.S. network equipment market rose 15.9 percent in 2005 to $19.9 billion, the second consecutive double-digit increase following three years of precipitous declines." The release goes on to predict "Total spending is expected to reach $20.9 billion in 2006 and $24.4 billion in 2009, a 5.2 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR)."

Double-digit growth sure sounds good, but scroll down at the chart below that came in the release (courtesy of TIA). It reflects not just the telecom equipment market, but the economy as a whole. Sure, the telecom equipment market has seen steady growth since 2003, but it's still less than half of the $51.6 billion market that it was in 2000. So, despite TIA's positive spin, the chart reveals that even at a double-digit growth rate, the market is still perhaps ten years away from its year 2000 level. We have a long way to go.

Posted by Martin Rowe on July 12, 2006 | Comments (0)