SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The worldwide service provider router (SPR) market totaled $445 million in the third quarter of 2002, which is down 10 percent from the second quarter of this year, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB). "The SPR market's sequential decline is attributed to a decrease in prices due to increased competition for existing telecommunications budgets," said Jennifer Liscom, principal analyst for Gartner Dataquest's worldwide telecommunications and networking group. "Service providers have also delayed purchases in some instances, waiting for next-generation products." Cisco Systems dominated the worldwide SPR market, as its revenue reached $278 million in the third quarter of 2002 (see Table 1). Juniper was the No. 2 vendor in the market, with revenue totaling $125 million. {TABLE 1} Cisco led in the market in terms of shipments, as its third-quarter shipments were almost double the shipments of its nearest competitor, Juniper (see Table 2). Juniper reported combined results for the first time in the third quarter with the acquisition of Unisphere Networks earlier this year. "The fourth quarter of 2002 will be a very challenging time for the worldwide SPR market, and 2003 will remain relatively flat, with recovery expected in early 2004," said Liscom. {TABLE 2} Gartner Dataquest defines SPRs as carrier-class routers capable of providing multigigabit bandwidth in support of high-speed WAN interfaces. These carrier class devices are typically designed for installation in network infrastructure and support the Internet Protocol suite.Gartner/Dataquest