Abstract

This IDC Market Perspective discusses the Ethernet access devices (EADs) market — a market poised for revival. As carriers consider Ethernet-based fronthaul options (eCPRI and RoE) across a progressively denser cell site footprint and as enterprises continue to embrace the superior bandwidth economics of Ethernet while re-architecting the WAN and its network edges (vCPE), IDC expects the Carrier Ethernet market to maintain its growth momentum. As more last-mile Ethernet access gets provisioned in response to these trends, the market for Ethernet access devices looks poised to enjoy a revival in the near future.

"Mobile fronthaul across a dense cell site footprint and network edge/WAN redesign provide ample opportunities for growth of last-mile Ethernet access services. These trends portend well for the health of wholesale Ethernet services for telcos and Ethernet access devices for network equipment vendors," says Rajesh Ghai, research director, Carrier Network Infrastructure at IDC.

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