Optical transport equipment market to remain on growth track through 2027: Dell’Oro

Jan. 24, 2023

Not surprisingly, different facets of the optical transport systems set will expand at different rates.

Revenues from the optical transport equipment market should remain on an upward trajectory through 2027, according to Dell’Oro Group. The market research firm predicts within its newly released Optical Transport 5-Year Forecast Report that the space should see a 3% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2027, when sales are expected to reach $17 billion. Cumulative revenue during that five-year period should hit $81 billion, Dell’Oro believes.

“We expect annual growth rates to fluctuate in the near term before stabilizing to a more typical 3% growth rate,” said Jimmy Yu, vice president at Dell’Oro Group. “There is still a large amount of market uncertainty this year due to the economic backdrop—economists are predicting a high chance of a recession in North America and Europe. However, at the same time, most optical systems equipment manufacturers are reporting record levels of order backlog entering the year, and we expect that most of this backlog could convert to revenue when component supply improves this year.”

For this reason, Yu told Lightwave that the optical transport market should begin the forecast period on schedule with a 3% growth rate in 2023.

Not surprisingly, different facets of the optical transport systems set will expand at different rates. For example, the WDM metro market should see lower growth than historical averages due to the growing use of IP-over-DWDM. The DWDM long-haul market should increase at a five-year CAGR of 5%, while coherent wavelength shipments on WDM systems should climb at an 11% CAGR, reaching 1.2 million annual shipments by 2027. Meanwhile, 400-Gbps wavelengths installments are expected to dominate for most of the forecast period.

Dell’Oro’s Optical Transport 5-Year Forecast Report provides an overview of the optical transport industry with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, unit shipments, and wavelength shipments (by speed up to 1.2+ Tbps). The report tracks DWDM long haul, WDM metro, multiservice multiplexers, optical switch, disaggregated WDM, data center interconnect, and ZR optics.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.