Report on Challenges in Optical Transport and Transponder Market

The new report, ‘Optical System and Module Vendors Rush to Grab 100G IC Expertise’ from Research and Markets offers a comprehensive analysis on the coherent-detection schemes in the 40G and 100G optical transport.

According to the report, there is a transformation in optical transport technology, and this transformation affects the other technologies associated to it. The advanced signal processing functions are revolutionizing the supply landscape, especially when these functions are used in the 100G optical module. The signal processing functions include FEC (forward error correction), DSP (digital signal processing) to deduct the impairments created by passing through the physical media, and ultra-high-speed ADC (analog-to-digital conversion).

The transformation in the technologies will also impact the optical transponder market. These changes will either affect the basis of the optical transponder market, or it will bring more benefit to the merchant transponder.

The report explains that electronics is now widely used with optics for transport applications. Optics vendors must accept the FEC/DSP/ADC functionalities as important to the optics. However, the major challenge is to develop these components, which require investment and complex expertise. The production of these components encounters the opposition both from the supply side and the demand side.