August 16, 2006 Reno, NV -- According to a recently published report by Synergy Research Group, "Q2 2006 Enterprise & Service Provider Router/Switch Market Shares," the worldwide Carrier Ethernet market increased over 100% year-over-year and over 25 percent sequentially. Carriers rolling out advanced entertainment and communications services such as IPTV, VoIP, and VPLS drove the growth spurt.
Q2 2006 was dominated by the heavyweights, with Cisco, Alcatel, and Juniper experiencing the most substantial growth worldwide -- each grew their Carrier Ethernet sales by triple digits. Smaller vendors, such as Foundry, Extreme, and F5, are also enjoying the benefits of this market transition -- penetrating a coveted market, which has been historically dominated by a few router vendors.
"The edge has become a strategic platform for the delivery of advanced IP-based services," said Mark Glodowski, analyst at Synergy Research Group. "Carriers are investing heavily to deploy a slate of next-generation entertainment and communications services, including IPTV, VoIP, and HSI. This is good news for networking vendors and great news for customers."
| Q2 2006 WW Carrier Ethernet Market Shares | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Y-Y Growth | |
| Cisco | 1 | +105% |
| Alcatel | 2 | +452% |
| Juniper | 3 | +131% |
| Foundry | 4 | +13% |
| Extreme | 5 | +31% |
In Q1 2006, Synergy Research Group enhanced its Router Segmentation to reflect the impact of Carrier Ethernet on service provider network deployments in their quest to pursue next generation communications and entertainment services. The new segmentation includes two new Carrier Ethernet Segments as well as a redefinition of the Service Provider Edge, embracing both Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching technologies.