PON vendor revenue to increase 180% in 3Q04

Global sales of passive optical network (PON) equipment jumped 20% sequentially in the third quarter of 2003, but far greater growth lies ahead, according to Infonetics Research. The global PON market, $27 million in this year’s third quarter, will grow 180% to $76 million for the third quarter of 2004, Infonetics projects. The market should reach $102 million for the full-year 2003, a 91% increase from last year. And it should keep growing to $531 million in 2006, a compound annual growth rate of 63%. Though North America is the biggest PON market today (representing 59% of third-quarter PON revenue), Asian markets (25% of the quarter’s revenue) are beginning to follow, accelerating the growth of the industry globally. Infonetics also predicts ATM-based PON (or APON, the kind favored by Baby Bells) will be “the PON technology gorilla for the next few years with a significant revenue lead [over alternatives such as Ethernet-based PON] through 2006.”