Optical Communication Market Positioned for Growth

The optical communication market is well-positioned for growth between 2011 and 2015, despite modest growth in sales of optical networking equipment in 2010, according to a report from the market research company LightCounting. Strong demand for optical components and modules used in data communications and telecommunications networks is an early indication of the industrywide recovery.

Sales of optical transceivers and wavelength-selective switch modules increased by 30% in 2010, rebounding from an 11% decline posted in 2009.

Although the datacom market segment started recovery in late 2009 and early 2010, growth in the telecom market just started to accelerate in the second half of 2010. LightCounting forecasts that sales of optical interface modules employed in the datacom and telecom networks will increase by 10% and 15% in 2011, respectively, as total sales of these products will exceed $3 billion.

Sales of passive optical components, reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers, pump lasers and amplifiers increased well ahead of the total market for components and modules in 2010, a trend suggesting that a new cycle in infrastructure upgrades may be starting now, as these devices are typically used in early stages of network installations.

“Plans for upgrades of networking infrastructure are being dusted off as economic recovery gains strength. Optical connectivity becomes essential across a wider range of networks, including datacenters, enterprise and even wireless infrastructure as data transmission rates reach 10 Gb/s. This technological transition will drive the industry growth for many years to come,” said Vladimir Kozlov, founder and CEO of LightCounting.

The report presents analysis of infrastructure upgrades of top 10 network operators, a summary of trends in networking equipment market and detailed analysis of the forecast for optical components and modules. The forecast database includes data from 2007 to 2010 and a detailed market forecast through 2015 for optical components and modules used in Ethernet, Fibre Channel, synchronous optical networking/synchronous digital hierarchy, coarse and dense wavelength division multiplexing, wireless infrastructure, fiber-to-the-premises and high-performance computing applications.

The sales data for 2007 to 2010 account for more than 30 transceiver vendors, including 25 who shared confidential sales data with LightCounting. The market forecast for 2011 to 2015 is based on the company’s model correlating transceiver sales with network traffic growth and projected subscribers of fiber-to-the-premises systems.

For more information, visit: www.lightcounting.com