Ethernet Switch Market Revenues to Exceed $18 Billion in 2010 .

Dell’Oro: Global. Major Opposing Forces Impact Overall Market Prices. The trusted source for information about the telecommunications and networking industries, Ethernet Switch market revenues are forecasted to grow from $14.6 billion in 2004 to $18.3 billion in 2010. Major market shifts in customer segments, application deployments, and switch port speeds will continue to have opposing effects on overall market prices.

The continued strength in the small business sector will have a downward effect on average selling prices as less-expensive fixed-configuration switches comprise the vast majority of port shipments for this sector. However, features such as Power-over-Ethernet incorporated into the switch infrastructure to handle converged application deployments will help offset these price declines. Strong growth of Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch ports will help to prop up overall market prices. Given the strength in the small business segment, we anticipate that a 24- or 48-port Fast Ethernet fixed-configuration switch—which can add features to securely handle applications such as VoIP and Wireless LAN without adding too much complexity or cost—will be the product of choice for this market over the next couple of years. By then we expect that Gigabit Ethernet prices will have fallen sufficiently to entice stronger adoption of this higher speed technology among small businesses.

5-Year Forecast Report Publ 20060125