Optical components and systems companies have reported solid revenues for most of 2010 and Q4 results have set new records, according to LightCounting LLC, a market research company focused on in-depth studies of the optical communications market. After JDSU and Opnext reported their earnings on Feb. 3, their stocks rose by 30 percent. The entire data center, telecom optical components and systems group moved upward within a few minutes of the market opening, signifying big money fund movements into this area. Markets for optical components, modules and systems have improved steadily over the past 12 months. On Feb. 4, Finisar rose 13 percent, nearly $40 up from $9 a year earlier. In addition, JDSU jumped 27 percent to an almost 52-week high at $22.80. Opnext rose 29 percent on the day to $2.57. Improving sales of test equipment indicates that network operators are committed to deployments of next generation systems and significantly expanding network bandwidth. LightCounting has forecasted solid growth for the optical communication market and has found that the cumulative bandwidth of the network was not keeping up with the rise in internet and data center traffic. The analysis indicates that a period of increased investment in networking infrastructure will be necessary to catch up on several years of underinvestment and balance traffic growth and network expansion rates. A detailed analysis of the optical communications market, based on confidential sales data provided by 23 vendors, is outlined in a LightCounting Market Update report released Jan. 24, 2011. For more information, visit: www.lightcounting.com