With the earnings season in full swing, market consensus of negative earnings growth continues to loom large. The quarter witnessed the highest number of downward revisions in the recent past, leading to the Zacks Trend report predicting a 9.7% year-over-year drop in earnings of S&P 500 companies.As investor fears of an Earnings Recession remain alive, we focus on some Communication Equipment companies that are expected to report quarterly numbers this week.Industry TrendsThe major customers for the communication equipment manufacturing and servicing companies are the Telecom Operators and Cable Multi Service Operators (MSO) who rely on the former to expand their wireless and wireline networks. With the recent development of over-the-top (OTT) services and other network concepts like Internet of Things (IoT) gaining momentum, revenue prospects look promising for this industry for the near term. Moreover, telecom companies and cable MSO’s are always investing in newer technologies like high-speed Gigabit fiber optical networks, DOCSIS 3.1 and 5G networks. As new standards for networking emerge, these communication infrastructure companies have a pivotal role to play in innovation and smooth transition to such standards. However, a soft economic outlook can force major telecom companies to defer investment plans, thereby affecting revenues going forward.Stocks in FocusHere are three Communication Equipment companies scheduled to announce earnings this week:Level 3 Communications Inc. LVLT is scheduled to report first-quarter 2016 financial numbers on Apr 28, before the market opens. Level 3 Communications has been rapidly increasing its fiber presence in Latin America as well as in the European, Middle Eastern and Asian (EMEA) countries. Additionally, the company is enhancing its bandwidth capability and flexibility to enable customer MNCs to adjust bandwidth according to their requirements.Last quarter, Level 3 Communications posted earnings in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. For this quarter, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has an Earnings ESP of +2.22%, which makes us fairly confident of an earnings beat. (Read More: Level 3 Communications Likely to Top Q1 Earnings) Juniper Networks, Inc. JNPR is set to report first-quarter 2016 results on Apr 28. Earlier this month, the Internet infrastructure solutions provider lowered its outlook for the first quarter, citing soft demand from enterprises as well as U.S. and European telecom customers.Last quarter, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 6.12%. For this quarter, however, Juniper Networks carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and an Earnings ESP of -6.90%, indicating that it is likely to miss the Zacks Consensus Estimate. (Read More: Juniper Networks Q1 Earnings: Will it Miss This Time?) Skyworks Solutions Inc. SWKS is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2016 results after the closing bell on Apr 28. As demand for mobile Internet applications is exploding with the broad proliferation of smartphones, net books, note books, caplets and other forms of embedded wireless devices, Skyworks continues to gain traction.Last quarter, Skyworks Solutions posted a positive earnings surprise of 1.37%. Currently, this Zacks Rank #3 company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, indicating that it is likely to surprise the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter. (Read More: What Awaits Skyworks Solutions in Q2 Earnings?) Stay tuned! Check later on our full write-up on earnings releases of these stocks.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SKYWORKS SOLUTN (SWKS): Free Stock Analysis Report JUNIPER NETWRKS (JNPR): Free Stock Analysis Report LEVEL 3 COMM (LVLT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research