Market research shows optical networking is booming

Ovum has announced its preliminary quarterly results for global optical equipment networking vendors.

The global optical networking (ON) market topped $3 billion for the seventh consecutive quarter, after an exceptionally strong showing in 4Q07, dropping 12% sequentially but gaining 23% year over year.

“The sequential decline — particularly after a super-hot 4Q07 — was expected, while the strong growth over 1Q08 points to continued strength in spending for ON gear used for consolidating disparate services onto a single network and supporting growth in broadband consumer and enterprise services,” said Ovum’s VP for Optical Networking, Dana Cooperson.

“The trends we’ve been following for at least the past year — the increasing fraction of ON spending dedicated to metro WDM; the shift in end-to-end solutions marketing (if not purchasing); growing investment in undersea capacity; the growing addressable market for ON gear as emerging markets and alternative network builders take out their wallets; network evolution built on more packet-capable, agile and resilient networks — remain powerful forces for market growth and spending shifts.”