The growing popularity of 400-Gbps transmission rates will lead DWDM coherent port shipments to reach 1.3 million by 2024, according to Dell’Oro Group. The market research firm states in its latest Optical Transport 5-Year Forecast Report that the total optical transport market, which Dell’Oro defines as including multiservice multiplexers and WDM systems, will be worth nearly $18 billion by that year.
"We are projecting coherent port shipments on DWDM systems to grow at an 18% CAGR [compound annual growth rate]," said Jimmy Yu, vice president at Dell'Oro. "Further igniting this market will be all the new, higher baud rate coherent line cards entering the market this year that will set the path for many more years of growth.
“On a capacity shipment basis, we think the highest share of coherent line cards will be operating at 400 Gbps, a wavelength speed that will have the perfect balance of capacity, performance, and price in both metro and long-haul networks," Yu added.
Metro deployments will account for more than half of the WDM market over the next five years, Dell’Oro expects.
Dell'Oro’s Optical Transport 5-Year Forecast Report covers the optical transport industry with tables covering manufacturers' revenue, average selling prices, unit shipments, and wavelength shipments (by speed up to 800 Gbps). The report tracks DWDM long-haul, WDM metro, multiservice multiplexers, and optical switch equipment.