Despite competing technologies gaining an increasingly larger piece of the total market, the SONET/SDH segment will continue to thrive, says a new report from market-research firm Cahners In-Stat Group (Scottsdale, AZ).
The total market for SONET/SDH systems is projected to jump from its $11.89-billion mark in 1999 to $31.26 billion by 2004.
"The SONET/SDH market will be strong through 2002, but beginning in 2003, it will slow as competing solutions such as DWDM gain ground," explains Doug McEuen, analyst for In-Stat's Voice and Data Communications Group.
Optimized for voice services, SONET/SDH is inefficient for data traffic, not easily scalable, and time-consuming to provision. Despite these barriers, SONET/SDH is "an entrenched technology," says the report, and replacing it with other technologies would be a massive endeavor.
According to In-Stat, the technology will continue to be important in key market segments. Interexchange carriers will continue to use SONET/SDH as a long-haul transport technology, while incumbent local-exchange carriers will stay with SONET/SDH in metropolitan markets where such infrastructure is widespread. Competitive local-exchange carriers that do business in metro markers will also stay with SONET, and Internet service providers will continue to rely on the technology to provide their customers efficient Internet and e-commerce services.
The report, "SONET/SDH Systems Market Analysis," examines the current SONET/SDH market and provides an end-user market overview, vendor profiles, and a five-year market forecast. For more information, call (617) 630-2139 or visit www.instat.com.