Communications Industry Researchers Inc. of Glen Allen, Va., has predicted that, by 2012, the market for optical networking components will have grown from approximately $2.8 billion in 2007 to $7.9 billion. The firm predicts a small boom in the market in the next three years, after which growth should occur at a steady 15 percent annual rate.

The expected increase in revenues for the optical components business is attributed to the greater use of 10-Gigabit Ethernet in corporate networks and data centers as well as to the expanded application of optical communications technologies, which will offer component manufacturers opportunities for high sales volume. The company also cites the wider deployment of passive optical networks in residential access networks and the increasing adoption of wavelength-division multiplexing technology by carriers for use in core transport networks.