Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO), a provider of networking for the Internet, has captured the number one position in the North American market for Optical Carrier (OC) 48 long-haul SONET transport, according to a newly released report by RHK, Inc., an industry research firm. The report, entitled "SONET Transport & DCS Long-Haul SONET Market Forecast," states information current as of January 2001.
Cisco's market share for the total long-haul Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) equipment market soared nearly 500 percent from 2.3 percent 1999 to 11.3 percent in 2000, by far the largest market share gain of any supplier in the report. The report projects North American spending on long-haul SONET equipment to increase from $5 billion in 2000 to $7 billion by 2003.
According to the report, Cisco achieved a 29.2 percent market share for OC-48 in 2000, passing such traditional SONET/SDH vendors as Nortel Networks, NEC, Lucent, Alcatel and Fujitsu, based on estimates of North American manufacturing revenues. Cisco's OC-48 transport interfaces are hosted on the ONS 15454 optical transport platform.
OC-48 is an optical transport protocol that makes it possible to carry up to 2.5 gigabits per second over fiber optical cable using SONET technology. According to the RHK report, in the year 2000, more OC-48 SONET units were deployed than any other line rate.
Traditional SONET systems were designed for voice only networks, and were typically large, single bit-rate and single service platforms. For example, a traditional OC-48 SONET multiplexer, requiring a seven-foot equipment rack, only supports OC-48 transmission speeds, and aggregates only voice traffic. In contrast, the multi-service Cisco ONS 15454 Optical Transport Platform is designed to support any SONET bit rate, and can aggregate and switch both voice and data traffic, all in a single platform about the size of a 19 inch television.
About Cisco IP+Optical Solutions:
Cisco delivers scalable IP+Optical networking solutions for Internet-driven marketplace, with expertise in IP routing, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), optical networking technology and content/services intelligence.
About RHKU:
RHK Inc. is a firm specializing in the analysis of advanced technologies for the public telecommunications network. For more information, visit www.rhk.com.