Optical spending rises in Q2: ACG Research reports that the total optical market rose 25 percent quarter over quarter and there are signs they may start spending more on gear in Q3 and Q4 2012. There have been a number shifts in the vendor rankings over the past four years. While Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) held a 21 percent market share and was the number one in the optical network market, they have been since dropped to third place as Huawei and ZTE (Shenzhen: 000063.SZ) took first and second place, respectively. The two Chinese vendors have a combined 40 percent of the entire optical networking market share. However, ACG added that pricing issues has prompted the research firm to take a conservative outlook for the remainder of 2012 and 2013. Post
SMBs dial up VoIP services: Driven by the demand for mobile VoIP services and adoption by SMBs will drive the Business VoIP Services market to reach $20.8 billion by the year 2018 indicate a new Global Industry Analysts report. What's making VoIP attractive is the ongoing decline in hardware and software in emerging markets, particularly in Asia Pacific. Besides hardware and software prices, adoption will be driven by three other factors: the emergence of hosted VoIP services, which eliminate the need for a business to spend money on on-premise phone systems; mobile VoIP services that allow all employees to be in touch regardless of location; and increasing productivity through features like find me/follow. The hosted business VoIP services segment will continue to gain momentum as more SMBs see the productivity and mobility advantages of IP telephony and as their traditional key systems and PBXs reach the end of their lifecycle. Release
China, Russia dominate GPON spending: The Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) market has become a hotbed of 2.5G and 10G GPON investments. Driven by ongoing deployments in China and Russia, Infonetics Research said in its latest GPON report that the BRIC countries represented half of all global GPON equipment revenue. In Russia, GPON equipment spending rose 79 percent in 2011 over 2010, while in China "service providers spent $715 million on GPON equipment last year." Jeff Heynen said that China "holds massive potential for fiber-to-the-home, with around 300 million Chinese citizens expected to migrate to urban areas over the next 15 years, definitely making China the dominant region for FTTH deployments." Not far behind China is Brazil. Heynen said that Brazil's FTTH growth will be "driven by a solid economy, increased competition from cable operators, and the upcoming World Cup and Olympics events." Looking forward, the research firm forecasts that 10G GPON will begin generating revenue in the BRIC countries by 2013. From a vendor perspective, Huawei has been the dominant vendor in 2.5 GPON in China, Russia, and Brazil, while Alphion leads in India. Release
