***Asian Market Fiber Optic Growth
(January 4)
According to Fiber Optics News, a recent study released by the
San Francisco-based research firm RHK predicts an explosion in
the Asia-Pacific fiber optics equipment market over the next
three years. This year alone, shipments of WDM and SDH equipment
to the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to triple from 1999
levels, reaching $6.1 billion this. This growth is expected to
continue at a rate of 50 percent per year through 2004.
Asia-Pacific shipments of WDM systems are predicted to reach $7.2
billion in 2004, a ten-fold increase from last year's $790
million. The Japanese will be the big spenders on WDM systems,
followed closely by the Chinese.
Shipments of SDH systems are predicted to top $11.7 billion in
2004, up from $2 billion in 1999. Here again, Japan and China
will lead spending for the region, with both expected to post a
50 percent annual growth rate through 2004.
In Europe, RHK expects the fiber optics equipment market to reach
$9 billion this year. This growth should continue at a 25 percent
annual growth rate through 2004, reaching $14.8 billion in that
year.
RHK projects the European WDM market for terrestrial optical
transport to grow by 192 percent to reach $1.6 billion by the end
of this year, climbing to $5.6 billion by 2004. The top three WDM
system vendors in Europe last year were Nortel Networks, Alcatel
and Ciena.
For the SDH equipment market in Europe, RHK expects sales to
reach $10 billion by 2004, up from $5.4 billion last year.
Marconi, Alcatel, and Nortel dominated the SDH equipment market
last year in Europe. Marconi established its dominant position in
the market by acquiring fiber optics businesses from Robert Bosch
and Nokia, which helped to expand its position in the German,
Scandinavian and Benelux markets.
Wave Issue 0101 1/4/01 Article 2-01