The worldwide market for metro Ethernet equipment, which reached $3.8 billion in 2004, should double in the following four years, reaching $7.6 billion in 2008, according to data released today by Infonetics Research.

The percentage of metro networking capital spent on metro Ethernet equipment will grow each year for the next ten years, Infonetics said, and Ethernet equipment revenue should grow in double digits through at least 2008. The research firm also expects metro Ethernet ports to increase 433% between 2004 and 2008.

As the Metro Ethernet Forum further develops standards to clearly define carrier-class Ethernet services, the market for so-called "carrier Ethernet" switches and routers will grow to $2.7 billion by 2008, representing 35% of the metro Ethernet equipment market, Infonetics said. In 2004, carrier Ethernet revenue accounted for only 2% of the metro Ethernet market, with $61 million in worldwide revenue.

Nortel Networks leads the global market for both Ethernet-over-Sonet/SDH equipment and Ethernet over wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), Infonetics added. Alcatel is second in the Ethernet-over-Sonet market, Adva Optical Networking is second in Ethernet-over-WDM, and Cisco Systems is a close third in both markets.

The biggest geographic market for metro Ethernet equipment in 2004 was Asia/Pacific, which contributed 39% of the market's revenue last year. North America contributed 35%; Europe, the Middle East and Africa represented 21% and Central and Latin America accounted for 5%.