REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- A newly published report from Dell'Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the networking and telecommunications industries, reveals that the Optical Transport market returned to growth during 2004, posting a revenue increase of eleven percent for the year. The majority of this growth was driven by significant revenue increases in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) which grew 31 percent for the year, helping the lead vendor in the region, Alcatel, gain share.

"This was the first full year of growth since 2000," said Jimmy Yu, Senior Analyst for Optical Transport research at Dell'Oro Group. "We are forecasting continued growth in 2005, but with a higher level of competition among the vendors. This has already been witnessed in the fourth quarter of 2004 through a universal indicator of competition--steeper price declines."

Table 1: 2004 Worldwide Optical Transport Equipment Market Leaders (Revenue)

Dell'Oro Group