Infonetics Research: Optical network hardware market up 5% in 4Q08; biggest gains by Huawei, ZTE, Nortel

Market Wire, February, 2009

Communications market research firm Infonetics Research released the fourth quarter (4Q08) edition of its Optical Network Hardware report this week. Highlights from the market research report follow.

"The optical network hardware market fared well in the fourth quarter of 2008 and for the year overall, considering the economic climate and the devaluation of the euro. The pressure to upgrade equipment is still there, because mobile and data traffic continue to mount, and the number of mobile broadband subscribers continues to grow rapidly. The issue now for the telecom industry in general, and the optical market in particular, is whether service providers will increase their spending in the latter half of 2009 to fulfill the guidance they've already given for the full year. This is a big unknown."

Michael Howard , Principal Analyst - Optical, Routing, Switching, and Ethernet - Infonetics Research

HIGHLIGHTS

--  Worldwide optical network hardware sales increased 5% to $4.0 billion
    in 4Q08 over 3Q08
      --  The lower-than-usual fourth quarter increase is partly due to the
          economic slowdown but also to devaluation of the euro versus the
          US dollar
--  For the year, the optical network hardware market is up 8% (also
    impacted by currency devaluation), driven by traffic pressures, long
    haul buildouts, WDM investments, and very strong results posted by
    Huawei in 4Q08
      --  Until 2008, worldwide optical hardware sales had been growing at
          a double-digit annual rate since 2003
--  The shift from SDH/SONET equipment to WDM equipment continues, with 54%
    of all North American optical equipment dollars going to WDM, 46% to
    SONET/SDH in 2008; the EMEA split is similar
--  Huawei nearly closed the gap with perennial market leader Alcatel-
    Lucent in 4Q08 with its 39% increase in worldwide optical revenue,
    leaving only a 3-point difference in share between the 2 vendors
--  Alcatel-Lucent, which usually posts big optical revenue gains in the
    fourth quarter, posted a small loss in 4Q08 in US dollars, but an
    18% gain in euros
--  Ericsson, Nortel, and ZTE also had a strong quarter, as did some of the
    smaller players in the optical network hardware market, including
    Corrigent, Infinera, and Sycamore
--  Combined first generation and second generation packet optical
    transport systems (POTS) equipment revenue increased 60% in 2008
    over 2007

REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics' quarterly optical report tracks ADTRAN, ADVA Optical, Alcatel-Lucent, BTI, Ciena, Cisco, Corrigent, ECI, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, Infinera, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, OpVista, Sycamore, Tejas Networks, Tellabs, Transmode, Turin, ZTE, Xtera, and others.

The report provides worldwide and regional market share, market size, forecasts through 2013, and analysis for metro and long haul optical equipment, including SONET/SDH (transport, MSPPs and crossconnects), WDM (ROADM and DWDM/CWDM transport), and 1st Gen and 2nd Gen POTS. The report also provides worldwide and regional market size and forecasts for ports and port revenue by type and speed for Ethernet, SONET/SDH/POS, and WDM ports.

DOWNLOAD OR BUY THIS REPORT

To download this report if your organization has purchased it, or to download sample data from the report, log on to Infonetics' portal from www.infonetics.com .

For sales, please contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com or 1 (408) 583-3335.

Infonetics Research is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize, and compete more effectively .

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Lead Analyst: Michael Howard Principal Analyst - Optical, Routing, Switching, and Ethernet Infonetics Research Email Contact 1 408.583.3351