Dell'Oro Group reports 10 percent growth in optical transport in 2025
Optical Transport equipment revenue rose 10 percent in 2025, with Data Center Interconnect (DCI) Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) purchases up nearly 40 percent; cloud providers increased direct purchases about 50 percent, a dynamic that affects procurement and supplier exposure for enterprise networks.
Market Overview
The Dell'Oro Group reported a 10 percent increase in Optical Transport equipment market revenue in 2025, driven by demand for DCI. Revenue from direct purchases of WDM equipment for DCI grew nearly 40 percent in 2025.
Key Findings
Both Optical Transport Systems and IPoDWDM ZR/ZR+ optics contributed to the 2025 results. The Disaggregated WDM market grew approximately 40 percent with gains across transponder units, optical line systems, and IPoDWDM ZR/ZR+ optics.
Segment or Supplier Performance
The top five system vendors by revenue share were Huawei, Ciena, Nokia, ZTE, and Cisco. For DCI, the top three suppliers by revenue share were Ciena, Nokia, and Cisco, with a high concentration of revenue coming from North America.
Technology or Trend Analysis
Cloud providers increased direct purchases of WDM transponders, ZR optics, and optical line systems; direct cloud provider purchases grew around 50 percent in 2025. Hyperscalers continued to account for the bulk of purchases while neo clouds increased their optical transport procurement decisions.
Forecast or Analyst Outlook
The Optical Transport market is forecast to grow 10 percent in 2026, with revenue from DCI growing at a much higher rate.
“Looking ahead, we are expecting more of the same for 2026 with one exception: cloud providers will build scale-across DCI to expand their AI data centers,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group.
The report shows DCI demand and cloud provider purchasing will remain central to supplier and procurement planning for enterprise networks. This Analyst Signals brief reflects a neutral, fact-based summary of the original research note.