Communications market research firm Infonetics Research reports that the nascent GPON market posted healthy sequential growth worldwide in 1Q08, driven by service provider investments in broadband access networks to deliver bandwidth-intensive services such as IPTV bundled with voice and high-speed Internet services.

Infonetics' report, PON and FTTH Equipment and Subscribers, shows that during the same period, BPON equipment sales declined significantly and EPON sales dipped, together bringing the overall PON market down 3% to $417 million worldwide in 1Q08.

"Service providers increasingly turn to PON as the next generation of residential broadband access, primarily in areas where DSL service penetration has reached maturity and operators are looking to increase average revenue per user (ARPU)," said Mark Showalter, directing analyst for broadband networks at Infonetics Research.

Other highlights from the report:

-- The top 3 overall PON market share leaders maintained their positions in 1Q08, with Mitsubishi leading, followed by Tellabs and Hitachi -- Between 4Q07 and 1Q08, worldwide GPON manufacturer revenue increased 33% and ports climbed 38% -- Alcatel-Lucent retains 1st place in worldwide GPON revenue, followed ever more closely by Huawei -- In 1Q08 worldwide Ethernet FTTH equipment revenue fell 6% sequentially, but is expected to increase 75% by 1Q09 as operators in Asia continue using Ethernet in metro areas to connect apartment buildings and businesses

Updated quarterly, Infonetics' PON report tracks PON equipment revenue and ports, including BPON, EPON, GPON, WDM-PON, and OLTs and ONTs with FTTH vs. FTTB splits; Ethernet FTTH equipment (CPE vs. service provider); and total FTTH equipment (CPE vs. non-CPE). The report also tracks PON, POTS, Ethernet, and DSL ports; and PON, PON FTTH, and Ethernet FTTH subscribers. The report provides worldwide and regional market size, worldwide market share, and forecasts.

Companies tracked include Alcatel-Lucent, Allied Telesis, Alloptic, Calix, Carrier Access, Cisco, Corecess, ECI, Ericsson, FiberHome, FlexLight, Fujitsu, Furukawa Electric, Hitachi, Huawei, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks, Novera Optics, Occam Networks, PacketFront, Sagem, Samsung, Sumitomo, Telco Systems, Tellabs, UTStarcom, Wave7 Optics, World Wide Packets, ZTE, and others.

Source:marketwire