Summary
This overview relates to current European market positioning within optical networking sector. It presents actual industry trends and directions for future growth.
Analysis
For optical communications systems and components, revenues from Europe-based manufacturing plants are estimated at 73.0 bn – a quarter of the worldwide production volume. A lot is going to be happening in the coming years in the area of optical communications. The backbone of our networks is now optical but most households still have copper wire going to the home. European companies are leading the way when it comes to next-generation access or fibre-to-the-home. Europe is well-placed in this area with some important companies, such as Alcatel, Ericsson and Nokia-Siemens.
So if Europe wants to hold onto its currently healthy share of the global photonics market, it needs to invest in research and development of next-generation technologies in a coordinated, pan-European effort. With sales revenues of more than 749 bn, the optical technology sector has already caught up with the microelectronic industry and will move ahead of it in the coming years. At present the industry has 246 000 employees (not including subcontractors) on its payroll in Europe and more than 5000 companies involved in manufacturing photonics, most of them small- to medium-sized companies.
