While metro residential/broadband and 5G fronthaul/back- haul are the fastest-growing segments of the market, core/long-haul networks are growing at a much more modest rate and creating a discrepancy in not just growth rate but also economy of scale. Edge/access technologies are based on very low cost and high volume, with capacity capping at ten Gb/s, while their network core counterparts are designed around high performance, reflected by the constant increase in capacity per wavelength.
by David F. Welch, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Infinera