Infonetics: GPON prepares to take off in 2008, WDM-PON emerges
MARCH 20, 2008 -- The worldwide market for PON systems, which includes BPON, EPON, GPON, and WDM-PON equipment, jumped 56% to $1.74 billion in 2007 over 2006, according to Infonetics Research's (search for Infonetics Research) latest quarterly report, "PON and FTTH Equipment and Subscribers."
In the same report, Infonetics forecasts annual port shipments for the emerging WDM-PON (search for WDM-PON) segment to grow at a 41% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2007 and 2011.
"WDM-PON deployments emerged in the Asia Pacific region, and we expect to see good growth in this category," contends Mark Showalter, the new directing analyst for broadband networks at Infonetics Research. "However, the immediate revenue growth opportunity is GPON in 2008, accelerating in 2009. We see a growing commitment from service providers to deploy PON-based FTTH and FTTB networks to stay competitive."
Other highlights of the report include the following:
• Sales of Ethernet FTTH equipment surged 89% in 2007 over 2006;
• The number of worldwide PON and Ethernet FTTH subscribers topped 12.6 million in 2007 and is forecast to grow to 80.5 million in 2011;
• GPON is forecast to eclipse EPON in 2009 for worldwide manufacturer revenue share;
• The top three overall PON market share leaders maintained their positions in 4Q07, with Mitsubishi leading by far, followed by Tellabs and Hitachi; and
• Alcatel-Lucent overtook Nokia Siemens for 4th place in overall PON market share and leads the GPON market after more than doubling its share in 4Q07.
Infonetics' report tracks PON equipment revenue and ports, including BPON, EPON, GPON, WDM-PON, and OLTs and ONTs with FTTH vs. FTTB splits; Ethernet FTTH equipment (CPE vs. service provider); and total FTTH equipment (CPE vs. non-CPE). The report also tracks PON, POTS, Ethernet, and DSL ports; and PON, PON FTTH, and Ethernet FTTH subscribers.
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