Infonetics Research expects high-speed (10G+) port revenue to double by 2017, to over $42 billion.
A new report from Infonetics Research reveals that the number of 1G, 10G, 40G, and 100G network ports shipped on service provider and enterprise equipment in 2012 grew 22% over the previous year, to top 360 million.
"Overall, shipments of all port speeds have been on a steady upward path as a result of growing network traffic and the need to constantly upgrade networks, but the revenue growth opportunity is in higher-speed ports -- 10G, 40G, 100G -- shipments for which shot up 62% in 2012,” says Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.
1G ports still make up a significant portion of overall shipments and will continue growing as 1G becomes the standard in service provider and enterprise access networks, notes the research. However, 10G currently accounts for about 3/4 of all high-speed (10G+) ports shipped.
Machowinski continues, "While 1G port revenue is actually declining due to commoditization and becoming a standard feature on network equipment, we expect high-speed (10G+) port revenue to double by 2017, to over $42 billion."
Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst for optical at Infonetics and co-author of the report, adds: "Revenue per port is plunging -- up to 30%-plus per year for new categories like 40G and 100G -- and this will help drive adoption of higher speed ports. In the optical segment, I expect 100G to account for more than 10% of optical transport spending in 2013."
