Wired Communications Connect To Varying Degrees Of Market Success

Dec. 13, 2011

All wired communications systems especially fiber adapt to growing online and video data traffic.

There has been significant growth in the optical transceiver market. Infonetics reports that 10G, 40G, and 100G optical transceiver module sales rose 35% in the first half of 2011.

However, the 10-Gbit/s passive optical network (PON) market is sluggish. 10G Ethernet PON (EPON) gear is available now but market demand outside of China will be low until 2013, according to research firm OVUM. EPON and its competitor 10G-PON or XG-PON are used for fiber to the home (FTTH) and fiber to the building (FTTB) systems and show promise for cellular backhaul.

Pyramid Research indicates that only 10% of the world’s broadband home connections were optical in 2010. However, Pyramid projects that will double by 2016 thanks to an increasing demand for faster services and the ever expanding footprint of optical networks.

Moxa Inc. indicated in a recent paper that industrial device manufacturers with serial interfaces could no long consider Ethernet as just an option. Ethernet has become the industrial network backbone. Research firm ARC Advisory Group projects that shipments of industrial Ethernet-based devices will reach as many as 4 million units by 2012. The overabundance of different industrial serial interfaces is giving way to Ethernet. Or, they must interoperate with Ethernet.

Fixed broadband revenues are expected to overtake voice revenue for the first time in 2012. OVUM indicates that broadband like DSL will produce more income for carriers than their landline voice services. Consumer broadband should generate $180.5 billion compared to $158.6 billion for voice in 2012.

And, significant increases in broadband Internet protocol television (IPTV) consumption are expected to continue. Research company comScore indicated that there were 164.4 million video viewers who streamed almost 18 billion videos in September of 2011 alone. YouTube led the video trend, but Yahoo, Facebook, and Hulu contributed. IMS Research indicates that connected consumer electronic devices will account for about 27% of over the top (OTT) video from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and others via boxes like the Roku.

About the Author

Lou Frenzel | Technical Contributing Editor

Lou Frenzel is a Contributing Technology Editor for Electronic Design Magazine where he writes articles and the blog Communique and other online material on the wireless, networking, and communications sectors. Lou interviews executives and engineers, attends conferences, and researches multiple areas. Lou has been writing in some capacity for ED since 2000.

Lou has 25+ years experience in the electronics industry as an engineer and manager. He has held VP level positions with Heathkit, McGraw Hill, and has 9 years of college teaching experience. Lou holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland. He is author of 28 books on computer and electronic subjects and lives in Bulverde, TX with his wife Joan. His website is www.loufrenzel.com.