This IDC study examines the 2007 market shares of Ethernet semiconductor vendors selling application-specific chips into LAN switching infrastructure and NIC/LOM connectivity designs. For the first time, IDC's Ethernet semiconductor market share study breaks down Ethernet vendor revenue by speed - FE, GE, and 10GE. We believe that it is timely to characterize the market by speed, especially with the growing interest in 10GE opportunities, as well as to monitor revenue opportunities that remain for FE and GE semiconductors.

"Although the Ethernet semiconductor market slightly decreased from 2006 to 2007, the decrease is not significant enough to declare that the market is contracting. Companies established in the FE and GE market segments will continue to find opportunities to extend the life of its existing product lines. Also, the 10GE segment is poised to expand the overall Ethernet semiconductor market as both public and private/start-up companies continue to secure design wins from early adopters. Yet there remains ample opportunity for these companies to position themselves for market leadership once the early adoption phase is complete." - Aileen A. Arcilla, senior analyst, Semiconductors