Figures showing 35% growth in the world’s optical components market may be misleading, because recovery from a previous slump made increases inevitable.
The OC market generated revenues of $5.6 billion (€3.9 billion) in 2010, it’s highest growth in a decade, and helped bring the telecoms equipment sector out of the global recession of 2009, research firm Ovum notes. However, while the market is tipped to continue growing in 2011, the firm predicts the rate of growth will slow, as recovery is all but complete.
“We predict that growth in the OC market is the best indicator for the next wave of telecom infrastructure expansion, as the 2010 increase follows the industry-wide contraction of 2009,” analyst Darryl Inniss states. While the growth is the highest since the dot com bubble of the late 90s, Inniss notes the current growth doesn’t point to a fresh bubble forming – hinting there is little risk of a burst.
That view is borne out by 4Q figures, which showed the seventh consecutive rise with growth of 5% over 3Q10. Best sellers in the final quarter were ROADMs and filters, with revenues up 10% sequentially to $260 million. Long-distance transmission devices and transmission discretes also buoyed the market during the period.
JDSU was the stand-out OC vendor of the final quarter, with revenues up 80% year-on-year.