Optical market to rise after four percent Q3 dip

After a stronger-than-expected second quarter, the global optical network equipment market shrank 4% sequentially in the third quarter, according to RHK. At less than $2 billion, the market is down 14% year-over-year. Part of the cause was cutthroat pricing among increasingly competitive vendors, said RHK. Of the top ten vendors, only Cisco's sales grew year over year in the quarter, while most incumbent vendors' revenues fell in the double digits. RHK expects the market to rise again in the fourth quarter, bringing the total 2003 market to about $8 billion.