Millimeter wave telecommunications is poised to play an important role in small cell deployments, fulfilling the need for backhaul aggregation as small cell deployments scale up, according to a new report from Infonetics Research. Growth will be fastest in the outdoor small cell backhaul segment of the millmeter wave equipment market, which will expand 101 percent from 2013 to 2018, according to Infonetics’ latest “Millimeter Wave Equipment” report.
“Although the millimeter wave market is still modest in scale at this point, the enhanced capacity capabilities delivered by this technology will be invaluable as a backhaul aggregation solution for small cell deployments as they scale up,” Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile backhaul and small cells at Infonetics Research, was quoted in a press release.
“We expect millimeter wave to play a significant role in outdoor small cell backhaul, which will become the primary long-term market driver.”
Millimeter Wave Small Cell Backhaul Forecast
According to Infonetics latest report:
- The overall millimeter wave equipment market to grow to $755 million by 2018;
- The outdoor small cell backhaul segment of the millimeter wave equipment market is forecast by Infonetics to outpace all other segments of the market, growing at a 101% CAGR from 2013 to 2018;
- Licensed E-band 70–90GHz equipment accounted for 93% of millimeter wave sales in the first half of 2014 (1H14);
- 90% of millimeter wave equipment revenue in 1H14 came from mobile backhaul applications, up from 85% in the second half of 2013 (2H13);
- Currently, the top 3 players in millimeter wave gear are E-Band Communications, NEC, and Siklu (in alphabetical order), though Infonetics expects some consolidation to take place over the next 2 years as the market grows and more of the large mainstream microwave vendors move in from the wings.
