Infonetics: RPR growth ‘phenomenal’

Worldwide revenue for resilient packet ring (RPR) technology (designed to combine the efficiency of Ethernet with the reliability of Sonet in metro and long-haul networks) totaled $323 million in 2003, according to Infonetics Research, which predicts RPR revenue will triple over the next four years, climbing 32% annually to reach $967 million in 2007. The data come from two recent studies conducted by Infonetics in which 63% of polled North American and European service providers said they planned to offer metro Ethernet over RPR in the next few years.

Another new Infonetics study charts the 27% annual growth of global metro Ethernet equipment sales from $2.9 billion in 2003 to $7.5 billion in 2007. Metro Ethernet equipment vendors shipped 1.1 million ports in 2003, an 18% increase from 2002, said Infonetics, adding that the percentage of overall carrier spending dedicated to metro Ethernet gear will increase every year for the next 10 years. The biggest portion of metro Ethernet equipment spending in 2003 came from the Asia Pacific region, which delivered 41% of the sector’s revenue; North America only delivered 35%.