| |
CTIA and OFC/NFOEC are Big Successes
Two of the largest communications shows - CTIA WIRELESS and OFC/NFOEC – shared more than the exact same show dates last month. Based on the scuttlebutt on the show floor, as well as official news, technology continues to spearhead the markets and create growth opportunities. CTIA WIRELESS, held in Orlando, attracted more than 40,000 attendees, according to the show’s producer, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA). On the show’s opening day, the association released results from its industry survey. Among the key findings was that wireless data service revenues were $15.2 million in 2006, 77% more than the previous year. With the increase, wireless data revenues are now approximately 13% of all wireless service revenues. Trying to grab a piece of this growing pie were the more than 1,000 companies exhibiting at the show, including Anritsu, which introduced the MS271xB microwave economy spectrum analyzer and HSPA enhancements to the MD8470A. For more on these products, please see the Microwave/RF and Wireless sections, respectively, of this issue. Across the country in Anaheim, optical professionals had reason for optimism. Estimated attendance at OFC/NFOEC was 13,000, up from 10,000 last year. Most people in the aisles agreed that metro and long-haul 100-Gbit/s deployments will begin no earlier than 2010 (and more likely won’t start until 2012), and while 40-Gbit/s networks are now being deployed, their growth may be slowed by the strong economic advantages of 10-Gbit/s.
Anritsu displayed test solutions for 10-, 40- and 100-Gbit/s applications at OFC/NFOEC. Two of those solutions, the CMA5000 and MT9820A, are highlighted in this issue’s Data/IP and Optical sections. | |