BOSTON – Global compact modular revenue grew 24 percent in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20) over the prior year, versus just 7 percent growth for the total optical market, according to the latest Transport Applications Report from market research firm Cignal AI. Cignal AI defines “compact modular” as small form factor optical hardware that is designed for use in open and disaggregated networks.

“Compact modular is gaining popularity with a wider set of network applications and operators due to the continued adoption of disaggregation outside cloud and colocation,” said Scott Wilkinson, lead analyst at Cignal AI. “The market saw extraordinary growth in Asia Pacific over the last two quarters, with sales in the region now approaching those of EMEA.”

Meanwhile, the 400ZR market is getting underway, with several hundred modules shipped for testing and evaluation in 3Q20. “The demand pipeline for 400ZR remains strong and operators are pleased with the prototypes under evaluation,” said Andrew Schmitt, directing analyst at Cignal AI. “Acacia had a huge quarter thanks to a large buildout at Amazon AWS.”