Metro Ethernet equipment sales to triple to $15B between 2005 and 2009, says Infonetics

Led by strong growth in Ethernet over copper and cable products and carrier Ethernet switches and routers, worldwide sales of metro Ethernet equipment are surging, from just under $5 billion in 2005 to over $15 billion in 2009, says a new report by Infonetics Research.

According to the report, "Metro Ethernet Equipment Worldwide Market Size and Forecasts," metro Ethernet equipment sales will accumulate $49.6 billion over the five-year period between 2005 and 2009.

"Ethernet has almost universal appeal to carriers and their customers because it helps lower their telecom costs," says Michael Howard, principal analyst and co-founder of Infonetics Research. "Service providers increasingly deploy Ethernet solutions for a variety of uses, but mainly to offer new revenue-generating services. The two most popular types of Ethernet equipment are Ethernet over copper and cable and carrier-class Ethernet switches and routers, which together will make up over two-thirds of the overall metro Ethernet market by 2009. Ethernet access devices (EADs) are a particularly fast-growing segment, reaching about $685 million in 2009, as BT, BellSouth, COLT, Verizon, AT&T and other large providers increasingly use them to roll out Ethernet and mobile backhaul services."

Report Highlights

--  Worldwide sales of carrier Ethernet switches and routers hit $2.1
    billion in 2005 and will more than double to $4.6 billion in 2009
--  Metro Ethernet port shipments are projected to skyrocket in the next
    few years, increasing more than 700% between 2005 and 2009; the majority of
    ports sold will be VDSL copper ports and EPON ports
--  Every year Ethernet will account for a larger portion of metro capex
--  North America accounted for 34% of all metro Ethernet equipment
    revenue in 2005; Asia Pacific for 33%, EMEA for 30%, and CALA for 3%;
    through 2009, Asia Pacific will takes share from other regions due to the
    stronger concentration of fast-growing VDSL and EPON in the region

Infonetics' report includes market size, analysis, and forecasts through 2009 for metro Ethernet ports and metro Ethernet equipment, including EADs, enterprise-class Ethernet switches and routers, carrier Ethernet switches and routers, Ethernet over SONET/SDH, RPR over fiber, Ethernet over WDM, Ethernet over copper and cable, EPON.

Download sample data at www.info.infonetics.com . For sales, contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com or (408) 583-3335.

Infonetics Research ( www.infonetics.com ) is the premier international market research and consulting firm specializing in data networking and telecom. Services include market share and forecasting, end-user survey research, service provider survey research, and service provider capex analysis.

Press Contact: Michael Howard Principal Analyst Infonetics Research (408) 583.3351 Email Contact