5/21/2009 -- Chinese networking giant Huawei has quietly become a force to be reckoned with in the optical networking segment, surpassing -- according to the latest market research numbers -- longtime market leader Alcatel-Lucent in Q1 of 2009 for optical market bragging rights.

In the first quarter of 2009, Huawei took over the top spot in the optical market leader in terms of revenue share, although Alcatel-Lucent remains the market leader on an annualized basis. In Q1, Huawei controlled nearly a quarter (23 percent) of optical market revenues, slightly outpacing Alcatel-Lucent, according to market watcher Infonetics Research.

"Since 2002, the optical network market has grown at a 8% compound annual growth rate, but for most vendors it looked more like 6% because Huawei absorbed a significant portion of the annualized gains. I don't see this trend ending anytime soon, and if it doesn't, Huawei could be the overall market leader for 2009," said Andrew Schmitt, Infonetics Research's directing analyst for the optical segment, in a statement.

Notwithstanding Huawei's upbeat quarter, it was a rough Q1 for the optical market as a whole. Sales plummeted by 22 percent (sequentially) from $4.0 in Q4 of 2008 billion to $3.1 billion, Schmitt and Infonetics report. --Stephen Swoyer