28 March 2011

Optical component market grows 35% to $5.6bn in 2010

The global optical component (OC) market grew by 35% in 2010 to a 10-year high of $5.6bn, according to ‘Market Alert: 4Q10 and 2010 Global OC and Market Share: 4Q10 OC Global Spreadsheet’ from independent telecoms analyst Ovum (part of the Datamonitor group).

The optical component market has led the recovery of the telecom market from the global recession of 2009 through its dramatic gain in 2010. “The 35% year-on-year growth experienced by the OC market in 2010 was the highest since the telecom bubble years, when the market more than doubled in one year,” notes Ovum analyst and report author Daryl Inniss. “However, we do not believe the market is experiencing another bubble,” he adds.

“Growth in the OC market is the best indicator for the next wave of telecom infrastructure expansion, as the 2010 increase follows the industry-wide contraction of 2009,” Inniss predicts. “What we expect is that the OC market will continue to expand in 2011, but at a slower rate.”

The OC market grew by 5% sequentially in fourth-quarter 2010 (the seventh consecutive quarterly gain). By segment, this growth was led by reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) and filters, long-distance transmission devices, and transmission discretes. ROADMs and filters comprised the fastest-growing segment, with annual revenue rising 46% from 2009 to $0.9bn in 2010, including fourth-quarter 2010 revenue of $260m rising 10% sequentially (well above the industry average of 5%). Ovum believes that the future outlook for this segment is good, as ROADMs are at the heart of all transport networks.

“There were many strong vendor performances in the fourth quarter of 2010,” comments Inniss. “JDSU led the pack in terms of growth and increased its revenues by over 75% compared to the previous year and 17% sequentially,” he adds. “The company also grew its market share by 0.6% on the previous quarter.”

Tags: ROADMs

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