Dramatic growth in optical components market in 2010

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: The global optical components (OC) market grew by 35 per cent in 2010 to hit revenues of $5.6 billion, the highest in a decade, according to new research from Ovum.

In a new report, the independent analyst states that the OC market led the telecom market recovery from the global recession of 2009 with its dramatic gain in 2010. However, Ovum believes the market will experience slower growth this year.

Darryl Inniss, Ovum analyst and author of the report, commented: “The 35 per cent year-on-year growth experienced by the OC market in 2010 was the highest since the telecom bubble years, when the market more than doubled in one year. However, we do not believe the market is experiencing another bubble.

“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. What we expect is that the OC market will continue to expand in 2011, but at a slower rate."

The OC market grew by 5 per cent sequentially in the last quarter of 2010, for the seventh consecutive quarterly gain. By segment, this growth was led by ROADMs and filters, long-distance transmission devices, and transmission discretes. ROADMs and filters was the fastest-growing OC segment: it grew 46 per cent in 2010 compared to 2009 and posted annual revenues of $0.9 billion, and its fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $260 million represented a 10 per cent sequential increase, way above the industry average of 5 per cent. Ovum believes the future outlook for this segment is good, as ROADMs are at the heart of all transport networks.

Inniss added: “There were many strong vendor performances in the fourth quarter of 2010. JDSU led the pack in terms of growth and increased its revenues by almost 80 per cent compared to the previous year and 17 per cent sequentially. The company also grew its market share by 0.6 per cent on the previous quarter.”