Taiwanese DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) equipment volume reached just over 8.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2004, a rise of 46.8% year-on-year and 2.3% sequentially. Shipment value grew 70.7% year-on-year and declined a slight 0.8% sequentially to US$300.9 million.

One shipment volume driver included tenders for wireless ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) routers offered up by telecoms in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, which lent a boost to ZyXEL's shipments in the fourth quarter. The strong shipment performance of high-end offerings from brand-name equipment vendors such as Seimens and Thomson, as well as retail brands Belkin and Buffalo, also drove Arcadyan, Askey, and Gemtek's wireless router shipments. Outsourcing from Chinese players Huawei and ZTE remained steady, fueling volume from Alpha Networks and Askey. ASUSTek also exhibited a slight volume increase owing to the tender award from China Broadcast & Television. Tender awards from awakening markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe, also stimulated branded shipments from D-Link and ZyXEL.

Although wireless ADSL router witnessed an increase in share from 13% in the third quarter to 20% in the fourth, operator tenders have been squeezing equipment supplier margins, causing wireless ADSL router ASP (Average Selling Price) to drop to 4% to US$52.6. IAD (Integrated Access Device) experienced a rise in demand in Western Europe, with share growing slightly to 9.4%. ADSL modem, having run through a steady decline since the fourth quarter of 2003, saw a rise in share during the fourth quarter of 2004 owing to higher demand in Latin America and Eastern Europe. These shifts in product mix resulted in the slight 0.8% decline in shipment value. ASP also exhibited a light fall to US$33.6.

In the first quarter of 2005, China Telecom is expected to open up a three million-line tender, which will stimulate Taiwanese maker performance. However, volume will be impacted by slowing demand for ADSL devices in Japan as well as the fewer workdays resulting from the Lunar New Year holiday. Shipment volume is thus anticipated to grow 3% in the first quarter of 2005 to a little over 9.2 million units.

Market Intelligence Center, based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english