Network equipment providers (NEPs) – sometimes called telecommunications equipment manufacturers (TEMs) – sell products and services to communication service providers such as fixed or mobile operators as well as to enterprise customers. NEP technology allows for calls on mobile phones, Internet surfing, joining a conference calls, or watching video on demand through IPTV (internet protocol TV). The history of the NEPs goes back to the mid-19th century when the first telegraph networks were set up. Some of these players still exist today.

Telecommunications equipment manufacturers

The terminology of the traditional telecommunications industry has rapidly evolved during the Information Age. The terms "Network" and "Telecoms" are often used interchangeably. The same is true for "provider" and "manufacturer". Historically, NEPs sell integrated hardware/software systems to carriers such as NTT-DoCoMo, ATT, Sprint, and so on. They purchase hardware from TEMs (telecom equipment manufacturers), such as Vertiv, Kontron, and NEC, to name a few. TEMs are responsible for manufacturing the hardware, devices, and equipment the telecommunications industry requires. The distinction between NEP and TEM is sometimes blurred, because all the following phrases may imply NEP:

Services

This is a highly competitive industry that includes telephone, cable, and data services segments. Products and services include:

Companies

Some providers in each customer segment are: Majority of revenues from service providers: Majority of revenues from enterprise customers: The NEPs have recently undergone a significant consolidation or M&A activity, for example, the joint venture of Nokia and Siemens (Nokia Siemens Networks), the acquisition of Marconi by Ericsson, the merger between Alcatel and Lucent, and many numerous acquisitions by Cisco. A look at the financial performance of these players according to the segment they serve creates a diverse picture:

Power balance in the NEP ecosystem

NEPs face high pressure from old & new rivals and a stronger, more consolidated customer base. Threat of New entrants: Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Bargaining Power of Buyers: Threat of Substitution:

Open Source Age

The SCOPE Alliance was a non-profit and influential Network Equipment provider (NEP) industry group aimed at standardizing "carrier-grade" systems for telecom in the Information Age, successfully in accelerating the NEP transformation towards Carrier-grade Open Source Hardware, OS, Middleware, Virtualization, and Cloud see table:

NFV, SDN, 5G, Cloud transformation Age

From 2010 onwards, Telecom carriers (NEP customers) wanted direct involvement in driving transformation. The NEP-only SCOPE Alliance was retired, as the industry combined forces on Service Availability, ETSI Network function virtualization standardization, Software-defined networking adoption, and 5G network slicing initiatives.