Carrier Ethernet Industry Voices

May 4, 2010 - Market research firm Infonetics Research released the first edition of its 2010 biannual Carrier Ethernet Equipment market share and forecast report.

"Service provider investment in carrier Ethernet is growing faster than overall telecom capital expenditures, so it is one of the areas that defied the economic downturn," notes Michael Howard, Infonetics Research's principal analyst for carrier and data center networks. "Globally, service providers invested $21.6 billion in carrier Ethernet products in 2009, and will increase spending over at least the next five years, for good reason. Carrier Ethernet technologies and products are a permanent, ingrained, inseparable, and growing part of service provider networks, manifested in access, aggregation, core, metro, and long haul. Carrier Ethernet products are used in nearly every part of service provider networks: for customer access, mobile backhaul, mobile core, broadband, broadband backhaul, and optical transport."

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

Despite taking a hit, the market for Carrier Ethernet equipment is on a roll, fueled by communications companies' efforts to keep up with surging Internet traffic

By Laurence Cruz

The worst economic slump since the Great Depression was a mere speed bump for at least one technology segment.

Today at the NetEvents conference in Barcelona Spain, the MEF announced the ratification of MEF 26.   This specification which defines Phase 1 of the External Network to Network Interface (ENNI), standardizes the reference point between service providers' MEF Certified Carrier Ethernet networks and services, marks a significant advance in the MEF's Global Interconnect Program.

The expectation is that this new standard will greatly accelerate the current lengthy and complex process of matching different providers' Carrier Ethernet services  [click on read more]

According to Infornetics Research, the Mobile backhaul equipment market is expected to jump 60% in 2009 to $5.9 billion.

"We see no letup in the mobile backhaul equipment market, as service providers around the world continue to upgrade their networks to handle the rapidly growing number of mobile broadband subscribers and their bandwidth-heavy habits. More than 100 operators are now deploying HSPA, with a coming wave of HSPA+ upgrades, WiMAX, and LTE, all to handle the skyrocketing mobile data traffic. And the most cost-effective way to do that is to transition from TDM to packet IP/Ethernet, which is driving the mobile backhaul equipment market," explains Michael Howard, principal analyst for carrier and data center networks at Infonetics Research. 

 "Ethernet-only microwave backhaul equipment is beginning to take off, particularly for WiMAX networks, which have no issues regarding voice timing and synchronization. Gigabit Ethernet ‘LTE-ready' microwave backhaul products were launched this year, and more Ethernet-only microwave products are expected to launch in 2010 as mobile operators move to Ethernet-only products in preparation for HSPA+ and LTE, sparking an acceleration in the Ethernet microwave backhaul segment," adds Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMAX, microwave, and mobile devices at Infonetics Research.

"...Over the 5 years from 2009 to 2013, we expect service providers worldwide to spend a cumulative $146 billion on carrier Ethernet equipment," projects Michael Howard, Infonetics Research's Principal analyst for carrier and data center networks.

Carrier Ethernet technology is integral to service provider IP next gen network projects aimed at transforming from TDM- to packet-based networks to handle ever-growing consumer, business, mobile backhaul, and video traffic. Service provider investment in carrier Ethernet continues to defy the economic downturn and outpace overall telecom capital expenditure investments. 

Infonetics Research released the second edition of its biannual Carrier Ethernet Equipment market size, market share, and forecast report which highlights that  Carrier Ethernet equipment manufacturer revenue is projected to grow to $34 billion by 2013. Other highlights include: