Acacia proclaimed Thursday that 1,000 of its AC100s, which are coherent 100Gbit/s transponder modules, "are in use," as the press release put it. Assuming that means "in use in networks" -- as opposed to in labs, in kitchens or in paperweight capacities -- "that would put them at about, I would say, at least 10 percent of the market," says Sterling Perrin, an analyst with Heavy Reading.

Let's put some qualifiers on that: We're talking about the market for coherent 100Gbit/s modules -- the line side, that is, as opposed to client-side interfaces that would go on things like routers. And it's just a guess; Perrin hadn't had a chance to vet Acacia's numbers.

Still, even if 1,000 is a highball estimate, it would seem Acacia has sprung itself onto the optical networking market with some force. Half of those deployments came in the last five months, Acacia's release says.

Why this matters
The first wave of coherent 100Gbit/s technology was all done in-house, as merchant components and modules weren't available yet. Apparently the next wave, using those off-the-shelf devices, is already well underway.

So, which vendors are deploying Acacia? Maybe we'll find out during the course of OFC/NFOEC next week.

For more

• Acacia Claims 1,000 Units Deployed
• Coherent Turns 5
• Coherent 100G Starts Getting Pluggable
• ClariPhy, Acacia Grow Optical Chips at ECOC
• Chip Power Fuels 100G Startup

— Craig Matsumoto, Managing Editor, Light Reading