BOSTON – Spending on optical transport hardware by North American network operators grew more than 20% in 2Q22 compared with the year before. Equipment capex by traditional network operators as well as large cloud operators has now surpassed pre-Covid levels, according to the most recent Transport Hardware Report from research firm Cignal AI. Spending by European and Asian operators remains low by comparison.

Bookings remain exceptionally strong, with large vendors universally reporting orders exceeding revenue resulting in record backlogs. Equipment vendors indicate that supply chain difficulties affected their ability to ship products and delayed network deployment and acceptance, postponing recognition of some revenue.

Additional 2Q22 Transport Hardware Report Findings:

About the Transport Hardware Report

Cignal AI's Transport Hardware & Markets Report is issued each quarter and examines optical and packet transport equipment revenue across all regions, customers, and equipment types. The initial analysis is based on financial results, independent research, and guidance from individual equipment companies. Hardware forecasts are reviewed and updated in the following weeks, along with spending trends by operator type.

The report examines revenue for metro WDM, long-haul WDM and submarine (SLTE) optical equipment, and access, aggregation, edge, and core packet equipment in six global regions. It also tracks equipment spending by end-customer market type, including traditional service provider, cloud/hyperscale, and enterprise/government network operators. Vendors in the report include Adtran, ADVA, Alaxala, Ciena, Cisco, Ekinops, Fiberhome, Fujitsu, Huawei, Infinera, Juniper, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Nokia, Padtec, Ribbon, Tejas, Xtera, ZTE as well as other vendors. A full report description, as well as articles and presentations, are available on the Cignal AI website.

Read the full press release here.

Cignal AI