Ethernet services revenue will grow to over $13 billion by 2018 from nearly $5.5 billion this year as major data service providers, including cable MSOs, leverage now widely available Ethernet metro area and wide area networks, according to a new report from The Insight Research Corporation. The average annual growth rate will range between 17.1% and 21.2% during that period, Insight said.
U.S. enterprises will spend over $49 billion on carrier Ethernet services over the next five years, according Insight Research’s, “US Carriers and Ethernet Services, 2013-2018,” report. The ability to accommodate ever increasing demand for bandwidth with greater flexibility and at low cost as compared to legacy TDM-based services underlies the growth trend, according to the Mountain Lakes, NJ-based market research company.
Migration of wireless backhaul cell sites from TDM to Ethernet will continue to be a major factor as carriers move ahead with 4G LTE deployments.
“Ethernet services in the small to mid-sized business market is the fastest growing segment of this market, while wireless backhaul still commands the top segment,” explained Insight director of research Fran Caulfield. “Over the five year forecast period we project a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 19 percent, with the highest growth levels in the next two years.”
