Synergy Research data shows that things are getting better in the communications business. VoIP and 3G Wireless are hot! Synergy Research ‘s 4Q 2003 survey says as much. Here are some highlights.

* Sales of communications equipment worldwide reached $27.6 billion in Q4 2003, up nearly 13 percent over the previous quarter. Enterprise sales increased 2.8 percent, and Service Provider sales increased 17.5 percent, both compared to last quarter.
* Packet-voice equipment sales rallied on an increase 21.1 percent sequentially. Clearly, the trend towards deploying less expensive and more efficient Packet-Voice equipment is underway.
* Wireless equipment sales in total increased 24 percent over last quarter. Service Provider Wireless Infrastructure equipment increased 25.2 percent to $11.5 billion on strong investments in 3G technology.
* Enterprise Wireless equipment, or Wi-Fi, improved 8.9 percent on increasing popularity in the home and the workplace aided by the backward compatibility and marketplace acceptance of the 802.11g standard.
* The Optical equipment market increased 10.4 percent amid some seasonality and fresh demand for Opex and Capex reducing WDM equipment that does not need repeaters to amplify signals over long distances.