PON gear revenue to reach $7.3 billion by 2023

According to the Dell'Oro Group, the global passive optical networking (PON) equipment market revenue is forecast to reach $7.3 billion by 2023, driven by spending on new 10 Gbps EPON and XGS-PON deployments, and on maximizing existing 2.5 Gbps GPON networks. Telecom operators and ISPs are focused on XGS-PON for the next-generation fiber deployments, Dell'Oro says.

"Fiber deployments continue to expand around the world, thanks to increased competition and an improved funding environment for both public and private networks," saidJeff Heynen, research director at Dell'Oro. "Today's XGS-PON trials are quickly moving to production deployments, positioning operators to compete with cable DOCSIS 3.1 networks."

Other forecasts include:

• The broadband access market is projected to increase at a 4% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the forecast period.
• Spending on cable infrastructure will only reach $1.6 billion by 2023, as cable operators slow their Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) purchases while focusing on their Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) deployments.
• VDSL Profile 35b and Gfast will offset some, but not all of the revenue loss from declining ADSL and VDSL port shipments. Some major Gfast deployments are already seeing signs of shrinking, as operators increase their investments in fiber.