According to IHS (NYSE:IHS), global hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) optical node shipments will more than double in the 5 years from 2014 to 2019, from 92,000 to 200,000. Driving the boost are cable operators upgrading their networks with optical fiber cable, taking advantage of its high-bandwidth, low-noise, low-interference characteristics to deliver broadband video, data and voice services to homes and businesses.
"Optical nodes have rapidly become important platforms for cable operators to grow their broadband capabilities," wrote Jeff Heynen, research director for broadband access and pay TV at IHS. "By way of increased node splitting today for increased bandwidth and a transition to distributed access in the coming years, optical nodes will see significant unit growth and innovation."
Other findings indicate:
Globally, HFC optical node revenue reached $356 million in 2014, up 14% from 2013.
In 2014, 80% of worldwide optical node revenue came from digital return nodes, and 15% from analog return nodes.
By 2019, IHS expects 35% of new physical nodes to be remote CCAP devices, 27% to be R-PHY units, and 23% to be traditional digital return nodes.
ARRIS (NASDAQ:ARRS) led optical node global revenue and physical node unit shipments for the full-year 2014.
