Optical Equipment Growing Slowly

Thursday, 19 May 2011 13:14

Market research firm Infonetics Research today released its first quarter 2011 (1Q11) Optical Network Hardware vendor market share report. ANALYST NOTE - "There is concern in the optical industry about the outlook for 2011, but we feel our single digit growth forecasts for 2011 are achievable. Optical equipment for mobile and broadband backhaul is in demand, and carriers are embarking on a multi-year 'optical reboot' to 40Gbs/100Gbs transmission over OTN and ROADM based networks. Vendors who service the growing WDM and packet-optical sector should do well, while vendors leveraged to legacy SONET/SDH will not," foresees Andrew Schmitt, directing analyst for optical at Infonetics Research. OPTICAL HARDWARE MARKET HIGHLIGHTS The global optical network equipment market, including WDM and SDH/SONET equipment, saw a typical seasonal decline in 1Q11, down 12%, following a 10% increase in 4Q10 Year-over-year, from the first quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011, WDM optical network equipment spending is up 20% and the overall optical market is up 7% Optical network hardware vendors that are Japan- and North America-centric did well in 1Q11, including Ciena, Cisco, Fujitsu, and NEC, all posting single- or double-digit gains Meanwhile, most other vendors posted slight to significant revenue declines, including market leaders Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei North America optical spending held steady in 1Q11 over 4Q10, bucking normal seasonal trends Optical equipment spending is up year-over-year in all regions except Asia Pacific ROADM spending set another new high in 1Q11, shrugging off seasonal spending patterns to rise 4% sequentially REPORT SYNOPSIS - Infonetics' quarterly Optical Network Hardware report tracks Adtran, ADVA, Alcatel-Lucent, BTI, Ciena, Cisco, ECI, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, Infinera, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Sycamore, Tellabs, Transmode, Tyco, ZTE, and others. The report provides worldwide and regional vendor market share, market size, and analysis (1Q11 analysis and forecasts will be published by May 26). Equipment tracked: metro and long haul optical network equipment, including SONET/SDH (ADMs and terminals, metro MSPPs and crossconnects), WDM (transport, ROADM, and long haul submarine line terminating equipment), and packet-optical transport systems (P-OTS). Also tracked: number of ports and revenue per port by speed (Ethernet, SONET/SDH/POS, WDM), from below OC48/STM1 to 100G. Regions tracked: Asia Pacific (with breakouts for China, Japan, India), Central and Latin America (CALA), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), North America, and worldwide. Infonetics Research Inc.