IP core and edge router revenue in North America was a strong performer of the second quarter, up 15 percent sequentially and up 39 percent from this time last year, according to the latest research from Infonetics (News - Alert) Research.

The report shows that operators put spending back on priority to handle more traffic, especially video over broadband and data and photos over mobile networks.

The study adds that Europe is in a holding pattern, struggling to pull out of the downturn, and is roughly 2 to 3 quarters behind North America. Although EMEA router spending was flat sequentially, it was up a respectable 13 percent increase year-over-year. Asia Pacific showed a solid 10 percent sequential increase in router revenue, but is still behind the Chinese-stimulated 2009 pace, reports Michael Howard (News - Alert), co-founder and principal analyst for carrier and data center networks at Infonetics Research.

•Between the first to second quarters of 2010, combined worldwide revenue from service provider IP edge routers, IP core routers, carrier Ethernet switches, and multiservice ATM switches increased 5 percent, to $3.1 billion.

•Year-over-year (2Q09 vs. 2Q10), the overall market is up 11 percent, despite a 54 percent drop in ATM switch revenue spurred by the conversion to Ethernet.

•The carrier router and switch market is expected to reach its 2008 pre-recession levels in 2011.

•Revenues of the top 7 carrier router vendors -- Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), Cisco, Fujitsu, Huawei, Juniper, Tellabs, and ZTE -- are up in the double-digit percents year-over-year, from 2Q09 to 2Q10

Regions tracked in the report include Asia Pacific (with breakouts for China, Japan and the rest of Asia), Central and Latin America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), North America, and worldwide.