Last year saw a steep increase in the shipment of coherent optics ports to support transmission rates of 400 Gbps and greater, according to Cignal AI. The market research firm states in its newly released 4Q20 Transport Applications Report that shipments of such coherent ports tripled over the course of the year.
Cignal AI considers 400G/600G ports as “third generation” coherent technology and 800 Gbps “fifth generation.” (Newly emerging 400ZR/ZR+ modules constitute the fourth generation.) While Ciena remains top of the heap when it comes to market share for third- and fifth-generation technology, its advantage eroded during 2020, according to Cignal AI analysts.
“Vendors beyond Ciena are finally ramping production of third-gen coherent technology and accelerating the growth of this new market,” said Andrew Schmitt, directing analyst at Cignal AI. Along these lines, the fourth quarter of 2020 proved successful for Cisco, Infinera, Huawei, and Nokia in this area. Meanwhile, Acacia Communications (now part of Cisco) shipped thousands of advanced coherent ports to a cloud operator for the customer’s optical white-box requirements, Cignal AI added.
“Fourth-gen coherent 400ZR and 400ZR+ technology will be the next market share battleground entering 2022,” Schmitt predicted. Here, Acacia and Inphi stepped up their early production shipments of 400ZR modules in 4Q20, and Cignal AI believes that demand for such optical transceivers this year will be great enough to outpace production. The next year should prove strong for 400ZR+ optical modules, with Cignal AI raising its forecasts for these devices due to signs of growing interest from non-cloud network operators.
Elsewhere in optical transport, Cignal AI reports that sales of compact modular platforms grew by more than 30% in the fourth quarter of 2020, exceeding the optical market’s performance overall. Here again Ciena saw market share slippage for the full year, with Nokia and Huawei enjoying increased sales, primarily in Asia Pacific (APAC). However, Ciena retained control of nearly half of the market outside of APAC.
APAC also shaped the market for packet-OTN gear, accounting for more than 60% of such sales for both the fourth quarter and the entire year. Not surprisingly, then, APAC also led all regions in the growth of packet-OTN sales for 2020.
Cignal AI’s Transport Applications Report provides analysis of the transformative product segments of the optical and packet transport markets, including market share and forecasts of compact modular and packet-OTN as well as coherent port shipments.
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