Dell'Oro sees WDM market hitting $13 billion by 2017

Explosive demand for 100G WDM wavelengths will help drive strong growth in the overall WDM market in the coming years, according to new research from the Dell'Oro Group. The firm's latest optical transport market forecast suggests WDM market revenue will grow at a 10 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years to $13 billion in 2017.

While demand for both 40G and 100G wavelengths is strong, Dell'Oro predicted 100G wavelength shipments will experience 75 percent CAGR over the next five years. By 2017, about 60 percent of the WDM capacity shipments will be with 100 Gbps wavelengths, the firm said.

The updated outlook builds on observations Dell'Oro made about the WDM market late last year: that it was essentially remaining strong despite other industry softness because of carriers' ongoing appetite for more network capacity.

Many industry observers have been debating just how long 40G will remain relevant if carriers are being so aggressive in demanding 100G, but amid that argument the WDM market in general appears set up to thrive for some time to come.

For more:
- here's the summary

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