While there’s plenty of forward-looking discussion these days about the “10G” future of DOCSIS-powered hybrid fiber coaxial networks, fiber will soon be a far bigger market for network technology vendors.
In fact, according to new research just published by Dell’Oro Group, it won’t even be that close.
By 2023, the global market for passive optical networking (PON) equipment will be worth $7.3 billion, the research firm said, with 10 Gbps EPON and XGS-PON deployments driving growth, along with the maximization of existing 2.5 Gbps GPON networks.
Conversely, global spending on cable infrastructure will only reach $1.6 billion by 2023, Dell’Oro explained, as cable operators “slow their Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) purchases while focusing on their Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) deployments.
“Fiber deployments continue to expand around the world, thanks to increased competition and an improved funding environment for both public and private networks,” noted Jeff Heynen research director at Dell’Oro Group. “Today’s XGS-PON trials are quickly moving to production deployments, positioning operators to compete with cable DOCSIS 3.1 networks.”
Heynen’s report predicts the overall broadband access market will grow at a 4% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the forecast period.
Dell’Oro said in March that the global broadband access gear market reached $3.4 billion in 2018.
