Michael Howard

Michael Howard co-founded market research firm Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) in 1990, and today is recognized worldwide as one of the industry’s leading experts in emerging markets, service provider trends, and user buying patterns. He developed the industry’s first carrier Ethernet switch forecast per Metro Ethernet Forum specs, was the first to track packet optical transport system equipment, and was the first to forecast the decline of SONET/SDH against the rise of WDM optical equipment – one measure of the move toward packet transport networks.

Nicknamed the “Ethernet pope,” Michael leverages 40 years of communications industry and market research experience to author numerous works year-round, including regular Optical and Carrier Routing, Switching, and Ethernet client columns, and 7 quarterly, biannual, and annual market share and forecast reports, including 10G/40G/100G, Metro Ethernet Equipment, Mobile Backhaul Equipment and Services, and Optical Network Hardware. He led a recent service provider survey that resulted in a popular report called MPLS-TP and PBB-TE Go Toe-to-Toe, and in 2008 co-authored the book, Carrier Ethernet: Extending Ethernet Beyond the LAN., which received 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com.

Michael moderates webinars and speaks at industry events year-round, and is frequently quoted in trade and business press, including Business Week, CNN Money, The Daily Deal, Forbes, Fortune, Investor’s Business Daily, NetworkWorld, New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.