NEW YORK, April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Customer premises equipment (CPE) is set to change dramatically in the coming years, with virtualization leading the way, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Insider (www.heavyreading.com/insider), a subscription research service from Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com).

Virtual CPE: Virtually Ready to Cut Costs, Drive Revenue & Disenfranchise Vendors looks at the state of development of CPE virtualization, reviewing latest thinking about what can be virtualized, how CPE might evolve and who is making the early running. It also profiles nine leading vendors in the virtual CPE market.

For a complete list of companies covered in this report, please click the following link: http://twimgs.com/audiencedevelopment/LRHR/PDFS/hri0414_companies.pdf

"CPE, whether designed for businesses or residential customers, has always presented operators with a challenge," says Simon Sherrington, research analyst with Heavy Reading Insider and author of the report. "When a group of global operators presented their collective desire to virtualize large parts of their networks in October 2012, CPE was identified as a key area for virtualization."

What is already apparent is that CPE virtualization will disrupt supply chains, Sherrington says. "Many enterprise CPE vendors with market share to protect are generally holding onto the view that their own devices are too important to virtualize and that the features they deliver must be run locally," he continues. "CPE vendors will need to decide on the appropriate mix of on-device or virtualized capabilities, and either to partner with companies to manage the virtualized applications as they migrate into the network or develop the capabilities to host them themselves."

Key findings of Virtual CPE: Virtually Ready to Cut Costs, Drive Revenue & Disenfranchise Vendors include the following:

• Some vendors plan to use virtualization to supercharge their CPE; others are developing stripped-down devices.
• CPE virtualization will change business models for telecom service providers, helping them to reduce capex and opex.
• Virtualization will reduce the time it takes operators to launch new services.
• Virtualization will disrupt supply chains for all devices typically placed at enterprise and consumer premises and has the potential to threaten the market positions of existing suppliers.
• The CPE virtualization market is at an early stage in its development.
• Expect a rash of announcements in 2014, as vendors race to catch up to the market leaders.

Virtual CPE: Virtually Ready to Cut Costs, Drive Revenue & Disenfranchise Vendors is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (12 issues) to Heavy Reading Insider, priced at $1,995. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/insider. For more information about other Heavy Reading Insider research services, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

David Williams
Global Director of Sales, Research
Heavy Reading
858-829-8612
dwilliams@lightreading.com

Press/analyst contact:
Dennis Mendyk
Vice President of Research, Heavy Reading
201-587-2154
mendyk@heavyreading.com

About Heavy Reading

Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com), the research division of Light Reading, offers deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the global telecom industry.

About Light Reading


Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 350,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day conferences each year for cable, mobile, and wireline executives across five continents.

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SOURCE Heavy Reading