Telecom 100-Gbps optical component sales strong to start in 2016: LightCounting

LightCounting reports that sales of 100-Gbps optical components for telecom applications have followed a strong 4Q15 with record performance in the first quarter of 2016. DWDM port sales led the way, according to the market research firm's upcoming "Quarterly Market Update."

Huawei enjoyed the most success during the quarter, capping off a run of 100G DWDM port sales growth the figure below illustrates. LightCounting says that the Chinese company shipped more 100G DWDM ports during the first quarter of 2016 than five of its nearest competitors. And three of those five also reported an uptick in 100G DWDM port sales during the quarter.

Chinese operators drove much of Huawei's demand for 100G DWDM ports, says LightCounting. China Mobile was a major customer in the quarter, and the market research firm expects China Unicom to contribute significantly to Huawei's sales in the second quarter.

The increase spending among Chinese carriers on 100-Gbps optics comes against an overall backdrop of capex declines, expected to reach 20% this year. LightCounting says the contradictory trends indicate that the initial infrastructure upgrades are reaching completion, but populating those fielded systems with 100G ports has not.

Meanwhile, Huawei and other systems houses tell LightCounting that 100G port demand has remained robust in North America and Europe, particularly when factoring in webscale network operators. For this reason, LightCounting predicts 100G DWDM port shipments will increase by 20% over its initial forecast of a 30% increase for 2016. Price declines will offset revenue gains to some degree. Nevertheless, the market research firm believes most vendors will see revenue gains of at least 20% in 100G sales this year.

LightCounting also expects an uptick in sales of 200G and 400G ports this year, a niche in which Nokia retains the market share lead.

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