Infonetics Research Forecasts 15%–20% Annual Growth for ROADM WSS Component Market 2012–2015

Market research firm Infonetics Research today released excerpts from its latest ROADM Components report, which tracks the Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer optical network equipment market and the wavelength selective switch (WSS) components within it, measured by spacing technology and degree-count.

ANALYST NOTE

“Growth in the WSS component market paused during the past 18 months as a result of excessive supply chain inventory and a period of slower ROADM equipment sales. We believe the WSS component market will resume growing this year and maintain annual revenue growth in the range of about 15% to 20% for the next few years, which is the underlying growth rate of the end market of WDM ROADM equipment,” expects Andrew Schmitt, Infonetics Research’s directing analyst for optical.

ROADM WSS COMPONENT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• After spiking +124% in 2010, global ROADM WSS component revenue contracted by about 5% in 2011
• The supply issues that led to the 2011 market contraction have been resolved
• Revenue for WDM ROADM-based optical equipment (not components) grew 36% in 2011 from the previous year, outpacing shipments of WSS modules by a wide margin
• Unit shipments of ROADM WSS components are expected to grow much faster than revenue due to price reductions and a later shift in the mix to smaller 1x4 WSS sizes as ROADMs are deployed further toward the edges of networks
• The WSS market continues to be controlled by three vendors: CoAdna, Finisar, and JDSU though the advent of colorless and directionless ROADMs creates an opportunity for smaller suppliers like Oclaro and Nistica, as well as nascent Chinese and Japanese companies with fresh prototypes
• The advent of coherent optics creates a new growth vector for ROADM networks; Infonetics expects that the market share winners of the transition to 40G/100G coherent network equipment will also command a greater share of the ROADM optical equipment market

REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics' biannual ROADM Components report provides market size, vendor market share, forecasts, and in-depth analysis on WSS components (revenue and units), with added historical and current ROADM optical equipment market size and share for a big-picture view of the market. The report provides WSS component pricing trends, supplier size, ASP forecast, deployment models, and market drivers and trends. ROADM WSS components are tracked in 4 discrete categories: 1) 1x4 or fewer add/drop ports, 100GHz; 2) 1x4 or fewer add/drop ports, 50GHz; 3) 1x5 or more add/drop ports, 100GHz; and 4) 1x5 or more add/drop ports, 50GHz.

WSS component manufacturers tracked: Capella, CoAdna, Finisar, JDSU, Nistica, Oclaro/Xtellus, and others.

ROADM optical equipment market share is included for ADVA, Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena (Nortel), Cisco, ECI, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, Infinera, NEC, Nokia Siemens, Tellabs, Transmode, and others.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Latest Optical research newsletter: http://bit.ly/H4vyY9
• Optical network equipment up 8% in 4Q11 as big vendors surge
• OTN transport and switching equipment to hit $10.6 billion by 2015; Huawei leads
• OTN survey reveals huge shift in carrier plans for optical switching
• 100G is unstoppable, indicate carriers in Infonetics’ 40G/100G WDM transition plans survey
• Operators name Ciena top optical equipment vendor in new survey
• Huawei expands lead, Cisco shines in weak quarter for optical network equipment market
• White Paper: The 100G era is approaching fast as carriers ‘reboot’ their optical networks
• Optical transceiver market up 35% in 1H11 over 1H10; 100G ramp-up will be faster than 40G

UPCOMING OPTICAL RESEARCH

See OPTICAL at http://www.infonetics.com/login for report highlights, tables of contents, etc.

• Log in to download Infonetics’ 2012 Research Publication Calendar: http://bit.ly/zwjcRs
• 1G/10G/40G/100G Networking Ports
• 10G/40G/100G Optical Transceivers
• OTN Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• OTN and Packet Optical Hardware Market Share, Size, and Forecasts
• 1Q12 Optical Network Hardware Forecasts and Analysis Report

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Infonetics continues to expand and is looking to hire more analysts. See http://bit.ly/jmXOYO for current job openings, including a senior Video analyst and enterprise VoIP market analyst.

SALES

• Western NA, Asia, CALA: Larry Howard (VP), larry@infonetics.com, +1-408-583-3335
• Eastern NA, Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, scott@infonetics.com, +1-408-583-3395
• EMEA: George Stojsavljevic, george@infonetics.com, +44-755-488-1623
• Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

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.