The OADM market will grow to more than EUR1bn in 2006, according to KMI's latest report Optical Networking: Worldwide Market for Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers.
This will outpace growth in the DWDM market, propelled by more OADMs being deployed per DWDM system, deployments to upgrade existing systems, and higher average DWDM channel counts.
Most growth will come from the introduction of reconfigurable OADMs, although fixed OADMs will continue to be in demand. Analyst Michael Arden said, "Many of the reconfigurable OADMs will be suited for metro applications, where dynamic wavelength management capabilities will be most needed."
Deployment of OADMs for metro will be pushed forward by the shift in DWDM deployments toward the metro space in the next few years due to the synergy between reconfigurable OADMs and the demands for wavelength management.
The deployment of metro-specific OADMs will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 63% and those for long-haul at 48%, giving overall OADM unit growth of 57%.