A strong North American optical networking (ON) market is no longer able to prop up the rest of the world, leading to flat global sales in the third quarter.
Research firm Ovum estimates total global revenues of $3.7 billion (€2.7 billion) in 3Q13, flat on 3Q12 and down 9% on 2Q13. North America was the only region to register year-on-year gains, however sales in EMEA, Asia Pacific, and South and Central America fell in 3Q13.
Despite the poor third quarter, Ovum remains confident full year sales will increase, albeit by a marginal 1% over 2012, and continue rising to hit $17.5 billion in 2018.
Ron Kline, principal analyst for network infrastructure, explains demand for the latest 100G, OTN, and core packet optical (CPO) kit “continues to see strong growth among operators.
“CPO has now reached a tipping point, representing greater than 50% of total ON spending for the second consecutive quarter in 3Q13.”