Fujitsu

First-quarter 2022 worldwide optical hardware spending increased 2.5% YoY, while packet gained 2%. North America led growth in both categories.

First-quarter 2022 North American optical and packet sales continue to rebound despite supply-chain constraints. Excluding NA, both hardware categories declined in 1Q22.

400ZRx Pluggable shipments surge while lower cloud spending holds back Compact Modular in North America.

Key technology takeaways from OFC 2022.

Fourth-quarter 2021 worldwide optical hardware spending increased 3.5% YoY. Declines centered in APAC for the second consecutive quarter, while all other regions grew YoY.

Here is a sneak peek of the hot topics of discussion at OFC 2022

Fujitsu’s North American revenues finally returned to growth as wireless fronthaul and compact modular revenue grew.

Cloud operator and traditional telco spending leads rebound in North America

Compact Modular equipment sales continued to surge while Chinese coherent port shipments stalled.

Optical forecasts were reduced by $1.1B worldwide in 2025 due to a shift of coherent optics into router-based DCO’s.

Compact modular sales again outperformed the overall optical hardware market while Packet-OTN sales declined. 400ZR is shipping but is supply limited.

Optical spending by North American Traditional Telco carriers declined YoY; Cloud & Colo optical spending worldwide slowed as NA spending stalled.

First-quarter 2021 worldwide optical hardware spending was down slightly YoY, Chinese optical hardware spending was down significantly.

Nearly 5 years after the project’s inception, AT&T disclosed it has deployed OpenROADM-based networks across a dozen US metros.

400Gbps+ port shipments doubled YoY, 400ZR ports started to ship, and compact modular sales significantly outperformed the overall optical hardware market this quarter.

Optical spending by North American Traditional Telco carriers declined steeply YoY compared to a heavily frontloaded 1Q20, but show signs of longer term recovery. Cloud & Colo optical spending worldwide slowed as NA spending stalled in 2020 and APAC is just beginning to take off.

First quarter optical spending was down compared to the Covid-impacted 1Q20. Packet transport sales, which suffered a year ago from operational issues, increased sharply.

Compact Modular sales (and hence disaggregation) have historically lagged in APAC versus the rest of the world, so APAC’s sudden and extraordinary growth over the past few quarters means that something has changed and deserves a closer look.

4Q20 Compact Modular sales significantly outperformed the overall optical market, as APAC sales more than doubled and surpassed EMEA sales for the first time. 400ZR forecasts for 2022 and beyond were increased based on growing operator interest.

North American Traditional Telco spending on optical and packet hardware declined significantly in the 4th quarter, due to a dramatic reshuffling of capex spurred by the pandemic during the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, APAC Cloud & Colo spending exploded. Long term, hardware sales in all markets are predicted to return to growth in the second half of 2021.