Gigabit Ethernet switch port shipments on the rise, reports Dell'Oro Group

August 1, 2006 Redwood City, CA -- According to a recent report by Dell'Oro Group, Ethernet Switch market port shipments are forecasted to grow from 224 million in 2005 to 324 million in 2010.

The report indicates that Gigabit Ethernet switch port shipments will achieve a majority share of total ports shipped by 2007, and continue to expand through 2010. Although there continues to be an upgrade cycle within some sub-segments of the Fast Ethernet market, overall growth rates have slowed significantly. At the same time, Gigabit Ethernet has become the de facto speed in all areas of the network except one--connecting desktop PCs to the LAN. However, it has started to make significant inroads into this area, with many large enterprises standardizing on this speed as their desktop connection.

"Feedback from our end-user interviews in conjunction with our own data indicates that many large enterprises upgraded their desktop switch purchases to Gigabit Ethernet in 2005," notes Seamus Crehan, senior director of Ethernet Switch Research for Dell'Oro Group. "Currently, we believe that medium-sized businesses are in the process of a similar upgrade. In contrast, small businesses are not yet upgrading their Ethernet Switch purchases to Gigabit," he adds.

The Dell'Oro Group 5-Year Forecast Report offers an overview of the Ethernet Switch industry with tables covering manufacturers' revenue, average selling prices, and port shipments (by speed, including Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet) for Layers 2-3 (both managed and unmanaged), and Layers 4-7. For more information, visit www.DellOro.com.