Fujitsu Named Leader in Metro ROADM Deployment With Over 75% Global Market Share According to RHK

Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. announced today that RHK, a leading independent telecom research and advisory service firm, has named Fujitsu the dominant supplier of Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs) with over 75% market share. RHK forecasts that sales of current, third-generation ROADM-based metro Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) products such as the market-leading FLASHWAVE® 7500 platform will grow steadily to account for over 40% of the total $1.6B metro WDM market by 2009.

RHK views the metro WDM market as one of the most promising markets within optical networking with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14%. A number of needs are driving metro WDM builds, including metro core/regional interoffice capacity adds, triple play services, video distribution, broadband and mobile backhaul, and enterprise applications such as business continuity and storage.

RHK defines the metro ROADM market as a subset of the metro WDM market, with products that offer single wavelength granularity, optical layer protection with sub-50 ms switching times, automated per-channel dynamic gain equalization, and favorable engineering rules that let carriers shrink network Capital Expense (CAPEX) requirements. Their research indicates that the early adopter market for ROADMs has been fueled largely by North American-based Multiple System Operators (MSOs) looking to support cable TV broadcast distribution, Video on Demand (VoD) and data services. These MSOs selected ROADM-based products such as the FLASHWAVE 7500 DWDM platform because these systems provide the capacity, reliability, scalability, and manageability required to enable the operators to converge their multiple applications and networks onto a single, converged core that can extend out into the distribution network. For large telecom network operators in North America and Japan, RHK sees ROADM technology as the means to a strategic, next-generation metro core.

"Through a combination of sales to North American MSOs and Japanese carriers, we estimate that Fujitsu, with its FLASHWAVE 7500 platform, accounted for roughly 75% share of the 2004 global metro ROADM market," said Dana Cooperson, RHK group and program director for optical networks and co-author of the report. "We estimate that Fujitsu's share in North America, because of particular strength with early adopter MSOs that drove most of the 2004 spending, will top 80%."

"People think of Fujitsu as a pioneer and leader in the SONET market, and this belief was recently validated by RHK when we were named the SONET market leader with a 27.7% share of this $1.39B annual market," said Bill Erickson, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Fujitsu Network Communications. "With the release of this report, however, Fujitsu begins a new chapter as the dominant supplier of leading-edge ROADM products that are powering converged networks for major MSOs and telecommunication carriers around the world. With SONET and WDM accounting for the vast majority of optical network spending in the future, Fujitsu will continue to be the trusted partner that service providers will turn to for support of their mission-critical transport applications."

FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM Platform Overview

The FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM is a next-generation DWDM system that lays the groundwork for the metro/regional transport network of the future. Its advanced optical core creates the ultimate in wavelength routing and topology migration flexibility to remove the fear and complexity from network planning decisions. Sophisticated self-tuning features enable touchless service and capacity activation to eliminate time-consuming, manual adjustments at every node, producing faster revenue and more satisfied customers. Advanced optical line cards provide efficient on-ramps for VoD, residential high-speed services and Enterprise data services across metro and regional networks over 1000 kilometers. The FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM can be easily provisioned via the NETSMART® 500 craft user interface or NETSMART 1500 Element Management System (EMS) software. Familiar operational features minimize engineering, sparing and administration costs for WDM networks.

The FLASHWAVE 7500 metro WDM portfolio comprises three configurations to allow carriers to develop customized solutions that are optimized for a particular application or network configuration.

--  The FLASHWAVE 7500 Core System is an all-optical ROADM designed for
    large metropolitan networks that require up to 40 wavelengths of 10 Gbps
    capacity per wavelength to satisfy existing traffic demands and provide
    plenty of capacity for future network growth.

--  The FLASHWAVE 7500 Small System offers the added flexibility of
    deployment with or without the ROADM switch fabric.  Available in a 16- or
    32-channel version, the FLASHWAVE 7500 Small System is a low cost way for
    carriers in small to medium-sized cities to converge existing networks,
    while offering the scalability to accommodate future growth.

--  The FLASHWAVE 7500 Extension System provides a compact and lowest cost
    solution for delivering the benefits of DWDM transport to the edge of large
    networks.  As a stand-alone platform or extension from a larger network,
    the system can be cost-justified with just a few wavelengths.