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.
See also: Report eyes convergence of 10G , 40G and 100G networks
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."
Globally, Asia Pacific leads all geographic regions in port shipments, aided by increasing adoption in previously lagging emerging economies and ubiquitous Ethernet services. Learn more about Infonetics' 1G/10G/40G/100G Networking Ports report.
Related: 10G transceiver sales seen outpacing 40/100G