The largest are Lucent Technologies, Northern Telecom, Motorola, Nokia Group, and Alcatel. Communication hardware vendors will benefit tremendously from the large budgets of telecommunication service providers to upgrade their networks. Local phone and cable companies are are attempting to bring broadband internet access to consumers. However, this will take many years to implement because of the cost, regulatory, and technical hurdles the company may face. The communications hardware industry will benefit because o f the current worldwide deregulation in telecommunication services and intense competition among industry players.
Data communications is the fastest growing area of the telecommunications hardware industry.
Main competitors include Cisco Systems, Lucent Technologies, and 3Com. Wireless hardware products are the second fastest growing area and includes such industry notable companies as Motorola, Qualcomm, and Ericcson. One opposing technology is cable modems vs. DSL's. Cable modems offer high speed internet access that connects to a cable television network and promises speeds of up to 30 Mbps. One shortcomings to this technology is the lack of a two-way communication channel for the majority of U.S. cable subscribers.