It's not a stretch to say telecom equipment manufacturer Copper Mountain Networks can actually feel its customers' pain these days.

That's because the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's primary customer base happens to be the struggling U.S. competitive local exchange market. Ouch!

Copper Mountain told Wall Street on Friday that it expects fourth-quarter revenue of between $46 million and $49 million, which is about 20 percent below revised expectations and 47 percent below third-quarter sales.

The company blamed the decline in sales on the weakening CLEC market, which is being buried by incumbent carriers delivering high-speed voice and data services to businesses and customers.

Rick Gilbert, Copper Mountain president and CEO, said his company plans to diversify its customer base by focusing on the international and incumbent carrier markets.

It is a good idea, considering the company's equity market value has plummeted from a 52-week high of $6.5 billion last year to $246 million last week.

Ryan Hutchinson, an analyst with W.R. Hambrecht, told CT on Friday that his company still has Copper Mountain rated as a "neutral." W.R. Hambrecht downgraded the stock last October from a "strong buy" to "neutral" because of "a considerable reliance on CLEC customers whose financial and operational outlook has been uncertain."