China's optical transport market reached $1.1 billion in the first half of 2001 (1H01) and is on track to reach $1.9 billion for the full year, according to a recent report by RHK. The report shows Huawei led the transport market with 32 percent share in 1H01, up from 27 percent in 2000. Nortel displaced Alcatel from second place and captured 18 percent market share, up from 5 percent last year. ZTE remained in third place with 12 percent, while Lucent, which tied with ZTE for third place last year, dropped to fourth with 9 percent. Alcatel and Marconi share fifth place with 6 percent each of the market.
"In the first six months of 2001, optical transport revenue in China hit $1.1 billion, almost surpassing revenue generated in all of 2000," remarks Matt Walker, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, at RHK. "The market is on track to hit $1.9 billion in revenue for 2001, as RHK forecasted in June. Factors driving this market are deregulation, rising fixed line and mobile voice penetration, and emerging interest in data services. We expect China's transport market to reach $5.5 billion by 2004."
In market share, RHK finds that Huawei's leadership in the overall optical transport market was the result of its strong position in the SDH segment. SDH is still the largest market segment in China, and Huawei dominants the more price-sensitive provincial and local markets. Following Huawei in the SDH market is ZTE, Nortel, Lucent, Marconi, Alcatel, Siemens and newcomer.
In the WDM market, Nortel more than doubled its 2000 market share and secured the number one position. This strong performance resulted from 10G-based WDM backbone wins and widespread acceptance of its next-generation ADM (the OPTera DX) technology. Huawei moved to the number two position for WDM through its increased role in provincial networks, improved brand image, and its 10G product. Lucent, an early leader in China's optical transport market, declined in WDM market share, but maintains a large embedded base, support network, and brand image. Additionally, companies such as ZTE, Marconi, Siemens, and Fiberhome won significant market share.
"China's transport market is growing rapidly as deregulation and bright economic prospects encourage a number of new network buildouts," remarks Walker. Vendors, both foreign and Chinese, have an important role to play in this process. The game is far from over, and there is ample opportunity for other vendors -- both incumbents and new entrants -- to gain market share." He adds, "Chinese carriers will be looking for vendors' technology prowess, localized customer support, and price/performance."
This new report by RHK, "Optical Transport Market Update in China: First Half 2001 Review," is a part of RHK's Asia-Pacific Optical Transport Service. This service examines the emerging technologies and market forces that drive the Asia-Pacific market. The report highlights the many licensed and unlicensed carriers that are building or expanding their optical networks, both in the national and provincial backbones and in city networks. RHK's figures are based on analysis of actual booked revenue for all vendors, cross-checked with carrier network deployments and spending patterns.
About RHK:
RHK Inc. is a global industry market research and consulting firm specializing in the analysis of advanced technologies for the public telecommunications network. For more information, visit www.rhk.com.