CAMPBELL, USA: Asia Pacific is by far the most dynamic PON (passive optical network) market in the world. Asia Pacific is the hotbed for PON technology, accounting for 55 percent of worldwide PON equipment manufacturer revenue in 2008.

Market research firm Infonetics Research released a new report, 'PON Equipment in Asia Pacific', which tracks EPON (Ethernet passive optical network), GPON  (Gigabit capable passive optical network), and WDM-PON (wavelength division multiplexing - passive optical network) equipment vendors, ports, and revenue in the major markets of Asia Pacific: China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the rest of Asia Pacific as a group (including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam).

Jeff Heynen, directing analyst, broadband and IPTV, Infonetics Research, said: "The early BPON and EPON rollouts in Japan and South Korea are quickly being eclipsed by China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile's extensive EPON and GPON rollouts for FTTB, (fibre-to-the-business), FTTH (fibre-to-the-home), and mobile backhaul. Though EPON dominates Chinese deployments today, there is no question that the Chinese operators will deploy GPON. The only question is: how much?"

Report Highlights
Service providers in Asia Pacific, like providers elsewhere in the world, are building out PON-based FTTH and FTTB networks to better compete for subscribers by offering faster, cheaper, more synchronous broadband connections

These drivers will fuel PON equipment manufacturer revenue derived from service providers in Asia Pacific to well more than double between 2008 and 2013

Japanese and Chinese EPON vendors dominate their homelands, with Mitsubishi the 2008 revenue market share leader in Japan, and ZTE, Huawei, FiberHome dominating in China

Alcatel-Lucent is the revenue market share leader for GPON equipment in Asia Pacific

Forty nine percent of Asia Pacific PON equipment revenue came from Japan in 2008 (down from 81 percent in 2007); this will change significantly by 2013, as China becomes the dominant PON deployer

While EPON technology represents the largest revenue opportunity in Asia Pacific, GPON is the fastest growing, with revenue expected to increase at a 139 percent compound annual growth rate from 2008 to 2013 in Asia Pacific.

Source: Market Wire