WDM shipments shifting to 200G/400G

Shipments of WDM technology capable of supporting 200- and 400-Gbps wavelengths should grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of greater than 100% over the next five years, according to the Dell'Oro Group. Metro networks in particular should see more use of 200-Gbps optical transmission, the market research firm says in its newly released "Optical Transport 5-Year Forecast Report."

The increase in the use of wavelengths greater than 100 Gbps comes as part of an overall explosion in WDM system deployments. Dell'Oro predicts that network operators will spend $63 billion on such optical transport equipment from 2016 through 2020. That's 40% more than operators spent on WDM platforms from 2011 through 2015.

"Bandwidth demand doesn't seem to show signs of slowing," said Jimmy Yu, vice president at Dell'Oro Group. "To meet consumer needs for more bandwidth, service providers have installed a large amount of WDM equipment and will continue to do so for a number of years to come."

Metro network deployments will drive much of the sales growth, Dell'Oro says in the report. In addition to the application of 200-Gbps technology, replacement of legacy systems to accommodate higher-speed fixed broadband and data center interconnect will act as catalysts.

Dell'Oro's "Optical Transport 5-Year Forecast Report" features tables that cover manufacturers' revenue, average selling prices, unit shipments, and tributary/line or wavelength shipments (by speed up to >100 Gbps). The report tracks DWDM long-haul terrestrial, WDM metro, multiservice multiplexers, and optical switch equipment.