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Optical Hardware Report Shows 8th Consecutive Quarter of Spending Declines in North America Despite Strength of Cloud and Colo Market

BOSTON (November 27th, 2018) – Optical hardware sales throughout Asia surged, while North America continued to decline, according to the third quarter 2018 (3Q18) Optical Hardware Report from research firm Cignal AI. Fueled by double-digit growth in China and Japan, and a quarterly turnaround in the rest of APAC (RoAPAC), Cignal AI has revised its forecasts upwards for these Asian regions.

“China bounced back more quickly than expected following the ZTE shutdown, and outside vendors Nokia and Ciena saw a triple-digit increase in Japan during the third quarter,” said Scott Wilkinson, lead analyst, Optical Hardware for Cignal AI. “RoAPAC contributed to the success in Asia as well. While we expected a slight slowdown this year there will likely be net increases for the year, driven largely by sales in India.”

Optical Hardware Revenue Growth by Region (3Q18)

Cignal AI’s Optical Hardware Report is issued each quarter and examines optical equipment revenue across all regions and equipment types. The analysis is based on financial results, shipment information, and guidance from individual equipment companies; forecasts represent our expectations for overall spending trends for equipment types within the regions.

Key findings In 3Q18 Optical Hardware Report:

  • North American hardware spending declined for the eighth consecutive quarter, as strong sales to cloud and colo providers did not offset weakness in the traditional operator market.
  • Ciena was the only vendor among the top 5 that grew revenue in North America, thanks to sales to cloud and colo operators.
  • EMEA saw double-digit growth during the quarter, and this momentum is anticipated to continue given traditional fourth-quarter spending increases.
  • An expected recovery in CALA did not materialize, as spending in the region continued to decline.

Optical Hardware Market Share Tracker

Last quarter, Cignal AI launched its Optical Hardware Market Share Tracker. The tracker captures the quarter’s most up-to-date market data, providing real-time visibility on individual vendors’ results as soon as they are reported to enable well-informed market analysis.

Optical Vendor Summary Reports

A new feature of the Optical Hardware Report this quarter are Optical Vendor Summary Reports which examine in depth the most recent quarterly results and items of interest about vendors in the optical market. Reports this quarter cover ADVA, Ciena, Fujitsu, Huawei, Infinera/Coriant and Nokia.

About the Optical Hardware Report

The Cignal AI Optical Hardware Report is published quarterly and includes market share and forecasts for optical transport hardware used in optical networks worldwide. The analysis includes an Excel database as well as PDF and PowerPoint summaries. Subscribers to the Optical Hardware Report also have access to Cignal AI’s real-time news briefs on current market events, Active Insight.

The report examines revenue for metro WDM, long-haul WDM and submarine (SLTE) equipment in six global regions and includes detailed port shipments by speed. Vendors in the report include Adtran, ADVA, Ciena, Cisco, Coriant, ECI, Ekinops, Fiberhome, Fujitsu, Huawei, Infinera, Juniper Networks, Mitsubishi Electric, MRV, NEC, Nokia, Padtec, Tejas, Xtera and ZTE.

Full report details, as well as articles and presentations, are available on the Cignal AI website.

About Cignal AI
Cignal AI provides active and insightful market research for the networking component and equipment market and the market’s end customers. Our work blends expertise from a variety of disciplines to create a uniquely informed perspective on the evolution of networking communications.

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