ZTE, a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, on Tuesday said that it shipped 1.8 million passive optical network optical line terminals ( PON OLTs) globally in 2011, ranking number one worldwide.

According to a March 2011 report published by the research firm Ovum, ZTE became the world’s leading PON OLT supplier in terms of both annual shipments and market share of PON OLTs with 40.9 per cent share of the global market. The report, entitled Market Share Alert: 4Q11 and 2011 FTTx, DSL, and CMTSalso stated that ZTE’s market share increase from the previous year was 14.6 percent.

ZTE also ranked in No. 2 globally for market share of PON ONT/ONU shipments in 2011, at 28 per cent, a nearly 10 per cent increase from the previous year.

According to the report, China maintained strong momentum in FTTx growth in 2011. China’s FTTx market comprised more than half of the global total. ZTE has more than 40 per cent market share in China’s PON market, including agreements with each of the three major Chinese operators.

"Our achievement reflects our ability to build momentum in the market and is an affirmation of the quality of ZTE’s PON OLT technology,” said ZTE Vice President Zhu Yongxing. “We will continue to provide our high-level expertise and service to the optical access market with a view to helping operators around the world build smart high-speed optical networks.”

ZTE is a world leader in the optical access market. Boosted by global FTTx deployments, its PON sales have posted an over 30 per cent compound annual growth rate over the past four years.