The microwave backhaul equipment market is expected to surpass $11 billion by 2016, according to a report.
Maravedis-Rethink’s “Wireless Backhaul Market from an All-IP Perspective” report also said during 2011, the PtP microwave backhaul market remained flat compared with 2010, at $4.72 billion, although vendors experienced changes in market shares.
Over the next five years, the Ethernet microwave market will continue to grow, mainly driven by the need for operators to deploy new base stations to provide good quality of experience over LTE networks.
Although there was also rising demand for hybrid traffic equipment in 2011, Maravedis-Rethink analysis showed that pure packet traffic reached double digits and will continue to grow over the next few years. “All vendors have already realized the need for pure packet outdoor radios, especially in the 60 GHz and 80 GHz bands. The solutions in the market are becoming very competitive both in price and added features to satisfy the upcoming demand for backhaul links to lampposts and the sides of buildings, where small cells will be installed,” said Elias Aravantinos, author of the report.
The number of 60 GHz links that will backhaul small cells is estimated to grow by a CAGR of 70% between 2011 and 2016, the researcher added. The microwave market is now firmly poised for sustained growth, as evidenced by the proliferation of RFPs (Request for Proposals). However, extensive testing by operators and vendors is needed on new features such as G.8032 Ethernet resiliency or compression techniques in order to fulfill the mobile subscriber's expectations for the 4G experience.