In an effort to capture a larger share of the growing Carrier Ethernet equipment market in India, Orckit Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: ORCT) plans to increase its investment in the country in the coming year.

The transport equipment vendor has been active in India since 2006, and during the past four years has "invested around $5 million in the Indian market, but we will soon be doubling this," the company's executive vice president of technology and marketing Eli Aloni tells Light Reading Asia. "We are also considering having our own manufacturing unit in India. We are looking at a revenue of $100 million in the coming two to three years," adds Aloni.

Those revenues look set to come mainly from the vendor's engagement with state-owned carrier Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) , which recently awarded Orckit a multimillion-dollar follow-on order as part of its nationwide, triple-play network rollout that's based on GPON access equipment supported by Carrier Ethernet gear. (See Orckit Joins BSNL Rollout and Alphion Finds GPON Success in India.)

BSNL awarded Orckit an initial deal last year. (See Orckit Wins in India.)

"We believe the Indian market will see a much faster data growth, and the Indian operators will need to move to Carrier Ethernet to take care of this," adds Aloni.

Why this matters
Orckit's investment plans are a reflection of the growing potential of India's Carrier Ethernet market, which is set to be boosted by fixed and wireless access broadband network rollouts. (See Analyst: LTE TDD Will Reach India in 2011, India's 3G Auction Ends, Raises $14.6B, Bharti Gets a Makeover Before 3G Launch, India's Tata Ready for 3G Launch, Bharti Plans Pan-India 3G Launch This Year , and Vodafone Unveils India 3G Timeline .)

This could also be a very big deal for Orckit. As the company's CEO noted in Orckit's third-quarter report, "India is shaping up to become a growth engine."

If it can achieve sales of $100 million from India alone in the next two to three years, that would be a massive boost for a vendor whose quarterly losses currently exceed its revenues. (See Orckit Reports Q3.)

For more
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— Gagandeep Kaur, India Editor, Light Reading