GPON Market Surges Ahead

Campbell, CA - GPON sales worldwide rose 12 percent in 1Q09, though sales of other types of passive optical network equipment lagged behind 4Q08, according to communications market research firm Infonetics Research. Year over year from the first quarter of 2008, the overall PON market rose 38 percent.

Directing Analyst Jeff Heynen of Infonetics says, “In the PON market, operators took a break from purchasing in the first quarter to ingest capacity and focus on subscriber acquisition. Periodic dips like this are normal in the PON market, especially following periods of sustained OLT deployments. The continued shift from copper- to fiber-based broadband access will drive growth in the PON market around the world.”

By 2013, Infonetics Research forecasts total worldwide PON revenue to grow to $4.6 billion, dominated by Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei and Motorola.

Worldwide Ethernet FTTH equipment revenue decreased 40 percent quarter over quarter and ports decreased 30 percent, as municipal and competitive operators in EMEA and North America hit the brakes on their Ethernet FTTH rollouts.