18 July 2003 San Jose, CA Lightwave -- Worldwide metro Ethernet equipment revenue hit $2.5 billion in 2002 and is projected to grow 134% to $5.9 billion by 2006, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24%, according to Infonetics Research's market size and forecast service, Metro Ethernet Equipment. Worldwide metro Ethernet equipment ports hit 906,000 in 2002 and will grow 294% to 3.6 million by 2006.
"RPR [Resilient Packet Ring], Ethernet over SONET/SDH, Ethernet over WDM, and ePON [Ethernet passive optical networks] are all growing fast, with 5-year CAGRs over 20%," states Michael Howard, principal analyst and co-founder of Infonetics Research. "The pace of introduction quickened in the first half of 2003 worldwide for both service provider metro Ethernet services and new manufacturer equipment. Major service providers are pushing the standardization efforts in groups such as the MEF [Metro Ethernet Forum], EFMA [Ethernet in the First Mile], and RPRA [RPR Alliance], and public interoperability demos show that a new wave of products is entering the market. Between 2002 and 2006, Ethernet will make major inroads into metro telecom equipment spending, accumulating $19.4 billion."
Revenue for customer located equipment (CLE), although smaller, will grow proportionally to revenue for metro Ethernet provider equipment (PE) in most world regions. The major exception is the fast-growing Ethernet-over-DSL copper category, especially in Asia Pacific, where most ports are recorded in CLE.
Total 2002 worldwide metro Ethernet revenue breakdowns include:
- Technology: Ethernet over fiber (switches and routers) makes up 65%. Ethernet over SONET/SDH (standard and RPR) makes up 22%.
- Type of equipment: metro Ethernet PE makes up 58%; metro Ethernet CLE makes up 42%.
- Region: Asia-Pacific leads spending with 42%, followed by North America with 35%.