NOVEMBER 12, 2009 -- Infonetics Research says that several trends are driving strong sales growth for wavelength-selective switches (WSSs). The findings are contained in ROADM Components Market Outlook, which the market research firm touts as the industry's first report to track WSS component vendors' market share.
“In a tough year for the overall optical network hardware market, the WDM ROADM optical segment has been the bright light in a dim room, and wavelength selective switches are the key component used by this equipment. WSS consumption has exploded due to aggressive ROADM deployment by carriers such as Verizon, and we see no end to this trend,” explains Andrew Schmitt, directing analyst for optical at Infonetics Research.
The report analyzes the WSS component market by discrete category, measuring by spacing technology and degree-count, including WSS components with 100-GHz and 50-GHz channel spacing and four or fewer (1x4) and five or more (1x5) add/drop ports. Highlights include:
- Two of the key trends driving strong growth in the WSS optical component market include a move toward tighter channel spacing, from 100 GHz to 50 GHz, which doubles fiber capacity and ensures compatibility with cutting-edge WDM systems; and increasing demand for devices with a larger degree count (1x5 ports or more) that provide service providers greater flexibility as they design their networks.
- The WDM ROADM optical equipment market will remain the fastest growing segment of the optical equipment business, Infonetics predicts, with worldwide revenue increasing at a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% from 2008 to 2013. WSS component revenue will grow at an even faster CAGR, the report states.
- JDSU leads in worldwide ROADM WSS component market share in the first half of 2009. However, market share shifts are expected as the market transitions to 50-GHz channel spacing and demand for both very small and very large components increases.
Infonetics’ ROADM components report includes customizable pivot tables and provides market size, market share, forecasts, and analysis on WSS components (revenue and units), with added historical and current ROADM optical equipment market size and share. The report provides WSS component pricing trends, supplier size, ASP forecast, deployment models, and market drivers and trends.
The ROADM WSS components report is available now and will be updated and published biannually in 2010 (March 18 and September 15), Infonetics says.
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