Metro ethernet revenue to hit almost $16bn by 2010

It is expected that spending on metro ethernet equipment could reach record levels over the next three years, according to new research.

Infonetics Research estimates that metro ethernet revenue will total $16 billion (£8.01 billion) by 2010 as more companies adopt and update their current systems. In 2006, revenue increased by 83 per cent to reach almost $9.2 billion (£4.6 billion).

A total of $64 billion (£32.1 billion) will be spend on a variety of metro ethernet equipment between 2006 and 2010 as consumers continue to demand high-speed performance across networks.

Michael Howard, principal analyst and co-founder of Infonetics Research, explained: "Each year ethernet gets a little closer to becoming the dominant mode of transmitting data traffic around the world, with tens of millions of 1G and 10G Ethernet ports already in metro networks and many more projected."

He added that many service providers are already starting to replace their equipment to help boost reliability and resiliency.

North America currently accounts for 34 per cent of all metro ethernet equipment sales compared to 33 per cent in Asia and 30 per cent in Europe.