The global optical network hardware market (SONET/SDH, WDM) totaled $3 billion in 3Q14, down 10% sequentially, and down 5% year-over-year, according to a new report released by Infonetics Research.
Some highlights of the report:
- Though WDM equipment revenue is up 4% in 3Q14 from a year ago, strong WDM spending trends waned in North America, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) continued to decline
- North America stopped pulling the optical train in 3Q14 as strong results from Ciena were offset by other vendors’ weaker performance
- Europe, meanwhile, remains in an optical slump compounded by a weak macro economy, and Asia Pacific was down by double digits on a sequential basis
- Market gains are accumulating to fewer vendors, but Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena, Cyan, Infinera, and NEC all notched positive results in 3Q14.
“A spending divergence is opening in the optical market, with some service providers, primarily competitive carriers and internet content providers, growing spend, while traditional carriers proceed with caution. Companies less dependent on EMEA and incumbent carriers are faring better—this effect explains the varying sentiment in the industry,” notes Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst for carrier transport networking at Infonetics Research.
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2014/3Q14-Optical-Network-Hardware-Market-Highlights.asp
