Datacom leads significant optical component revenue growth in 2021; Cignal AI

April 14, 2022

A transition by large cloud operators and some enterprise network operators toward 400-Gbps transmission helped spur this growth.

Stephen Hardy

After the usual first quarter sequential slippage, optical component sales showed steady growth in 2021, according to Cignal AI.

Cignal AI reports that total revenue for optical components, a category that includes optical transceivers, grew 15% in 2021. Components for datacom applications led the way, growing 27% to account for $4.7 billion of the total $14.5 billion component sales registered for the year within the datacom, telecom, industrial, and consumer markets, the market research firm states in its latest Optical Components Report.

A transition by large cloud operators and some enterprise network operators toward 400-Gbps transmission helped spur this growth. For example, 1.8 million QSFP-DD and OSFP datacom modules shipped during 2021, most of which were DR4 format. Meanwhile, more than 60,000 400G pluggable coherent modules shipped at the same time, with QSFP-DD ZR devices accounting for the majority.

“The transition to 400GbE is well underway, and pluggable coherent 400-Gbps technology is revolutionizing the design of the optical networks that connect data centers,” commented Scott Wilkinson, lead optical component analyst at Cignal AI. “400-Gbps speeds will drive spending and bandwidth growth both inside and outside the data center in 2022.”

Meanwhile, telecom components suffered the most growth-limiting effects from supply chain shortages during the year, Cignal AI reports. Nevertheless, shipments of 200G coherent CFP2 modules increased 17% to just over 200,000 units during 2021, thanks in large part to production ramps by Chinese OEMs for longer distance metro and long-haul applications. The market researchers expect telecom component revenues to increase by 8% this year.

Cignal AI publishes its Optical Components Report quarterly. The report covers revenue-based market share of company sales into four optical component markets – datacom, telecom, industrial, and consumer. The report also tracks detailed unit shipments of datacom and telecom components, including datacom transceivers used for short-reach applications and pluggable and embedded transceivers for telecom applications. Five-year forecasts are also provided for all segments.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.