Ulf Andersson to join Teleste amid North American cable upgrade pushUlf Andersson to join Teleste amid North American cable upgrade push

Teleste has made a significant leadership change as the supplier continues to amp up its focus on the North American cable sector.

Ulf Andersson, the former CEO of Falcon V systems and an exec late of MobiledgeX (acquired by Google in 2022) and Ericsson, will soon join Finland-based Teleste in the role of executive vice president and general manager of the company's broadband unit. Andersson, who will be based in the US, will officially assume that role on January 1, 2025.

Ulf Andersson most recently served as CEO of Falcon V Systems. (Source: Teleste)

He'll succeed long-time Teleste exec Hanno Narjus in that role. Narjus will remain with Teleste in the newly created "thought leadership" role of senior fellow, industry relations. Narjus, the company said, will focus on developing industry relations for Teleste's broadband networks business and further developing the company's technology and ecosystem strategy.

Andersson joins Teleste just weeks after Vecima Networks paid $5.8 million for Falcon V, a startup focused on network orchestration software and a network test suite that counts Charter Communications as the initial lead customer for that pair of products.

Andersson's appointment also arrives as Teleste expands its focus on the North American cable market as operators there are in the early phases of hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network upgrades, including a shift to a distributed access architecture and 1.8GHz amplifiers – two components associated with DOCSIS 4.0. That broader expansion into the region is complemented by Teleste Intercept, a joint venture that Teleste and New Jersey-based Antronix formed in 2017.

Teleste announced in September that it had shipped the first 10,000 units of its "ICON" 1.8GHz amps to North American cable operators. Teleste has yet to outline its full list of North American operator customers, though Cox Communications showed off Teleste's amps at the recent SCTE TechExpo in Atlanta. Light Reading has previously reported that Teleste also has some business with Charter Communications, which is in the process of a multi-phase HFC network upgrade that includes a move to 1.8GHz in a portion of its network.

"Teleste has a strong market position in Europe, and the ongoing expansion into the North American market has opened up the opportunity for significant business growth," Andersson said in a statement.

Jeff Heynen, VP of broadband access and home networking, said via email he's aware that Teleste has deployments underway with Cox and that they are "angling to be a big part of Charter's deployment, as well." Heynen expects Andersson to initially focus on identifying and securing other operators in the North American market.

"For Teleste, North America is going to be critical, since the 1.2[GHz] amplifier upgrade cycle already peaked back in 2016 and 2017," Heynen explained. "The last big market to address will be Germany. Outside of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria will also upgrade to DOCSIS 4.0, but that spending cycle probably won't be felt until 2027 and 2028."

Cable operator spending expected to pick up in 2025

Like other cable tech suppliers, Teleste has seen a slowdown in cable operator spending in recent quarters, though there have been some signs of improvement toward the later part of 2024.

Teleste reported Q3 2024 net sales of 29.9 million euros (US$31.34 million), down 15.1% versus the year-ago quarter, and net sales of €96 million ($100.63 million) in the first nine months of 2024, down 20.4% versus the same nine-month period in 2023.

Teleste noted that deliveries in North America are on the rise amid lower demand in Europe. However, the company said it expects to see volumes increase in 2025 and 2026 among North American operators and that the supplier has seen some initial indications that certain operators in Europe will move ahead with D4.0 upgrades in the latter half of 2025.

Editor's note: The story has been updated with commentary from Dell'Oro Group VP Jeff Heynen.