Ciena leads in $958M Ethernet access device market, but Adva may challenge in 2016

Driven by carrier Ethernet connections for three main applications -- backhaul from business buildings and DSLAMs, mobile backhaul, and wholesale carrier-to-carrier arrangements -- IHS Research said the worldwide Ethernet access device (EAD) revenue totaled $958 million in 2015, up 4 percent over the prior year. Perhaps not surprisingly, fiber-based EADs saw the most robust growth of 6 percent in 2015.

From a vendor perspective, Ciena remained the leader in EAD revenue, followed by Overture and Adva. IHS said that Adva's acquisition of Overture earlier this year makes it a strong challenger for market leadership moving forward.

On a regional basis, North America once again outpaced EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America in EAD revenue in 2015 -- maintaining its lead through the early adoption of higher-capacity ports over fiber. However, Latin America is showing potential. Service providers in Latin America only recently started deploying EADs, and EAD revenue in the region grew 23 percent in 2015 over 2014. Release