W-CDMA will receive the highest capex investment by mobile operators in 2012, according to a study from ABI Research.
By 2012, worldwide mobile capex will exceed $150 billion, the research said.
'Mobile operators' attitudes towards capex have changed over the past two or three years,' said mobile wireless research analyst Shailendra Pandey.
'They are clearly becoming more focused on an early return on their investments.'
Greater emphasis on data services is resulting in increased investment in servers and platforms outside the range of traditional wireless equipment, the research firm said.
In developed markets there is now more focus on making investments that will improve in-building coverage, and the rollout of advanced data services such as mobile TV and mobile broadband.
To offer advanced data and content services with improved delivery and reduced network costs, mobile operators will have to invest in more leased capacity, upgrade to microwave technologies, and add fiber links where microwave technologies have been exhausted, in an effort to boost their networks' backhaul capacity.
Operators will also have to deploy advanced switching technology in the backhaul network, to improve traffic flow and maximize the performance of the backhaul infrastructure.
In 2005, China Mobile's capex was $8.86 billion, more than Vodafone's global total capex of $8.74 billion, which is remarkable considering the high value of capex spent per-subscriber and per service revenue dollar generated.