Microwave backhaul mkt to touch $6.4 bn in 2017

NEW YORK, USA: Market for small cell microwave backhaul equipment to grow to over $6.4 billion in 2017, up from a forecast $1.5 billion for 2012 which represents a 35 per cent compound annual growth rate, as per ABI Research.

Millimeter wave line-of-sight (MMW LoS) will accumulate 44 per cent of revenue, or over $2.8 billion, with 23 per cent of microwave links in 2017, Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing non line-of-sight (OFDM NLoS) will capture 31 per cent of small cell microwave backhaul equipment revenue, or $1.9 billion, with 48 per cent of links in 2017, and Wi-Fi will capture almost 19 per cent of revenue or $784 million, with 12 per cent of small cell backhaul links.

“Thanks to its NLoS properties and point-to-multipoint (PMP) hub-and-spoke architecture OFDM NLoS becomes the most popular backhaul technology for small cells in 2017,” says Nick Marshall, principal analyst at ABI Research.

ABI Research believes that the millimeter wave bands from 60GHz to 80GHz (MMW LoS) will also prove compelling for small cell backhaul in many situations. Traditional Microwave LoS (6-38GHz) equipment for small cell applications is overtaken by these technologies and will represent only 13 per cent of revenue and 10% of links in 2017.

ABI Research also expects fiber backhaul solutions to experience a healthy growth between 2012 and 2017 with small cell backhaul over fiber reaching almost 24 per cent in 2017, up from seven per cent in 2012, with regions like China and North America favoring fiber as a backhaul solution in many circumstances.

“We believe that 4G/LTE small cell solutions will again drive most of the microwave and fiber backhaul growth in metropolitan, urban, and suburban areas,” continues Marshall.