Omdia's latest forecast report on fiber and copper access equipment shows that the global PON market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3% during 2020-2027, reaching $16.3 billion by 2027.PON technology will continue to be used to support FTTH, but its role is evolving for many operators.In Omdia's latest fiber and copper access equipment forecast, PON equipment port revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% over the 2020-2027 period to reach $16.3 billion in 2027, up from $8.2 billion in 2020.This is because, while PON will continue to be used to support FTTH, its role is evolving for many operators.Many operators are using PON to support a unified fiber access network strategy.With the adoption of 10G and 25G solutions, PON can now be used to support mobile xHaul and business services.Next-generation PON port equipment revenue is expected to account for 50% of total PON port equipment revenue by the end of 2022, and 87% by 2027.This includes Combo PON port solutions that can support 10G or 25G PON as well as 50G PON.PON OLT port shipments will remain strong, reflecting trends in deploying, expanding and upgrading networks.Next-generation GPON OLT ports will grow rapidly at a CAGR of 30.1% during 2020-2027.Next-generation EPON OLT ports will grow moderately at a CAGR of 8.7% as China, South Korea, and Japan continue their 10G EPON upgrades.In addition, North America will further deploy 10G EPON.ONT/ONU port consumption is strong in 2021 and will grow at a CAGR of 10.4% by 2027.Further FTTH deployments and the adoption of PON technology in non-residential areas are driving this growth.The adoption rate of next-generation ONTs/ONUs varies by region/country.They will account for 67% of global ONT/ONU port shipments by 2027, up from 3% in 2020.Some operators are beginning to deploy 10G PON ONT/ONU on future-oriented user equipment.Jaimie Lenderman, principal analyst at Omdia, pointed out that China has long been the largest consumer of PON access equipment.This is due to China's early adoption of FTTH across the country and its huge population size.In 2020, China will account for 45% of the total consumption of PON equipment ports.China will continue to consume PON equipment, but will no longer dominate over the forecast period (as shown in Figure 1).Operators in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the rest of Asia & Oceania will consume 51% of total PON ports by 2027, up from 36% in 2020.The rest of Asia & Oceania will grow significantly at a CAGR of 21.8% during 2020-2027.Many operators in this large area are upgrading to 10G PON, while others are building FTTH networks with GPON, such as in India.Several operators in the region have already expressed interest in using 25G GPON for 5G small cell xHaul transmission.EMEA is another growth region and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% during 2020-2027.This reflects, to a certain extent, the construction and upgrade of PON networks by established telecom operators and Cable operators.Alternative operators have also emerged in Western Europe, some of which are building networks to lease to retailers.The strong growth in the EMEA region was also driven by the construction of new networks in several countries in Africa.Several countries in Latin America & the Caribbean are investing in PON networks, especially in the Mexican and Brazilian markets.The region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1%.Some cable operators in this region are moving away from DOCSIS 4.0 in favor of PON-centric networks.