Worldwide reconfigurable optical-add/drop-multiplexer (ROADM) equipment revenue came in well over $100 million last year and is expected to nearly double this year, with continued explosive growth projected through 2008, according to a report from Infonetics Research (San Jose, CA).
ROADM equipment represents only a small percentage of total metro WDM revenue today, but as service providers build-out their metro WDM transport rings with ROADM equipment, that number will grow to almost half of all metro WDM revenue by ’08, reveals the report. The worldwide ROADM component and subsystems market is also poised for strong growth through ’08, with a projected growth of 81% for 2004-05.
“For a fairly nascent market, the size of the 2004 revenue total was a surprise and likely will be for many ROADM component and equipment manufacturers,” says Michael Howard, principal analyst of Infonetics Research and author of the report. “While North America and Japan are leading in number of deployments and RFP/RFI activity, many service providers around the world have ROADM equipment under evaluation in their labs and many more are interested. We expect to see the wholesale shift of core metro from fixed OADM to ROADM in most parts of the world by 2007.”
ROADM technology is revolutionizing the role of WDM transport networks, representing the third generation of WDM systems for metro and long-haul WDM networks. ROADM and optical management features allow service providers to create a flexible, quickly “provisionable” WDM transport layer in the core of their networks, scalable in both distance and number of nodes. Over the next several years, ROADMs will increase WDM systems revenue and displace SONET/SDH systems revenue, say Infonetics analysts.
For more information about the report, “ROADM Equipment and Components Market Outlook,” visit www.infonetics.com.