The telecom infrastructure services market shrank 5% to $70 billion (€52.1 billion) in 2009, according to Technology Business Research.
Suppliers of services to telecom operators saw their revenue decline nearly $4 billion, as a global slowdown in network equipment investment led to a related decrease in deployment-related services.
Ericsson maintained its position as the top telecom vendor, with 15% market share. Close behind were NSN and Alcatel-Lucent, both with 11% of the market.
The sector accounts for a significant portion of vendors' revenue, with Ericsson and NSN reporting that services accounted for more than 40% of their run-rate revenue heading into 2010.
While the infrastructure service market was once been dominated by IT companies, in 2009 the highest-performing IT company was HP, in 4th place with just 9% share. IBM was 5th with 8% and Accenture 7th with 2%.
“During 2009, the professional and managed services segments balanced the slowdown in deployment services revenue, allowing network equipment suppliers to maintain market position,” TBR analyst Michael Sullivan-Trainor explained.
Despite last year's less-than-stellar performance, TBR predicts that the next five years will see strong growth for the sector, as operators begin to roll out LTE and state broadband initiatives drive infrastructure investment.