This IDC study follows the trends of brand vendors in the Japanese router market in 2003. Brand vendor shares are presented for the entire router market as well as by segment. Figures are shown in terms of shipment volume and end-user sales revenue.

Junko Yairi, network device research manager of IDC Japan's communication group has this to say about the Japanese router market: "Product prices in the overall router market are declining and it is difficult to stop the decrease. In the context of this situation, vendors should focus on profitability of products instead of growth of shipment volume and revenue. Products will have to come with added value. It will be indispensable for vendors to provide added value in order to create applications that users need. It is certain that users are strongly conscious about the future potential and scalability of products when they decide on investment even though these factors may be low on the purchase criteria list."