The cable industry's much-anticipated CCAP transition is now well underway.

Shipments of the next-gen Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) equipment leaped in the second quarter, according to the latest report from Infonetics Research Inc. The firm found that vendor revenue from CCAP shipments surged 42% globally in the spring quarter on a sequential basis, as cable providers sought to take advantage of the new platform's higher densities, greater cost efficiencies and lower per-channel prices.

"The velocity of the shift from CMTS (cable modem termination system) to CCAP remains phenomenal," says Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband and pay TV at Infonetics. North American cable operators accounted for much of that shift, with CCAP shipment revenues in the region climbing 39% from the previous quarter.

Due largely to the surge on the CCAP end, the combined shipments of upstream and downstream DOCSIS channels for CCAP, CMTS, edge QAM modulator and coaxial media converts (CMCs) scaled the 1 million level for the first time in the second quarter. Infonetics reported that DOCSIS channel shipments hit 1.2 million in the spring, boosting revenue to $411 million, up 24% from the first quarter.

Get the latest updates on the next-gen cable infrastructure market by visiting Light Reading's CCAP/next-gen nets content channel.

As they have before, Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Casa Systems Inc. ranked as "the top dogs" in the DOCSIS channel market. No other cable vendors apparently came close.

Unlike in previous reports, Infonetics did not break down the market shares for the different vendors. In its first-quarter report, the research firm found that Arris led the way in combined CCAP and CMTS equipment market share, followed closely by Cisco. Casa came in a strong third place. (See Casa Seizes Early CCAP Lead.)

— Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading