| According to new research from IDC, spending on metro Ethernet services in Western Europe will reach $2.4 billion in 2007. In a new study, IDC sizes the metro Ethernet market in Europe in two categories: those services used for broadband access for both businesses and consumers, and those used for transparent LAN (T-LAN) services for businesses. While initially T-LAN services were a larger proportion of total spending in 2002, they will be overtaken by broadband services over the next five years. There is a larger addressable market for broadband since it includes consumers as well as businesses. �The expansion of Ethernet from the LAN to the metro has resulted in much hype over the last year�, commented Jill Finger Gibson, research manager, European Telecommunications Services. "Metro Ethernet does indeed offer a growth opportunity for service providers, but the hype over the service needs to be tempered with a close examination of its disadvantages, as well as the advantages, and a recognition that businesses are more careful than ever in spending their IT budgets on migrating to new communications services, even if those services promise to save them money�.
The primary driver of metro Ethernet for broadband access is the need for greater bandwidth and the desire of regional governments and cities to improve their communications infrastructure in order to make their areas more attractive for prospective investors and residents. The primary driver of metro Ethernet for T-LAN is currently price, since the costs to service providers to deploy Ethernet compare favourably to those for traditional SONET/SDH, and CPE costs for the customer are lower as well. However, the market is hindered by a lack of capital available for new telecoms ventures and the expense of laying fibre.
IDC recently published a document: �Western European Metro Ethernet Services, Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2007�, that examines the market for metro Ethernet services in Europe at a country-by-country level. It analyses technology and services trends and applications, and profiles the key providers of metro Ethernet services in the region. The market sizing and forecasting quantify metro Ethernet end-user spending and connections for 16 European countries. The market forecasts are provided for two segments: metro Ethernet used for broadband Internet access and metro Ethernet used for transparent LAN (T-LAN) connections on corporate networks.
|
