ResearchandMarkets.com has published a report that forecasts the global Small Cell market sales to be $52 billion by 2025, up from the value of $11.5 billion in 2018.
According to the new report, the leading vendors in the small cell market have invested in high-quality technology and processes to develop leading-edge monitoring and digital triggering activation capability. The Small Cell market encompasses virtualization, cloud, edge, and functional splits. As 5G networks come online in 2020, they will require increasing sophistication from mobile operators.The challenge going forward in mobile network build-out is going to bring together a growing number of LTE and 5G radio access technologies. A range of connectivity services will be needed. APIs will be needed in each small cell to manage connectivity to a number of customer sensors that will be implemented in different segments.
The report also states that network spending has been transformed from macro cell tower dominance to 80% of spending on small cells. Small cells support wireless communications across short distances. All the indoor and outdoor places need to increase wireless coverage, providing significant market growth for small cells.
Small Cell markets encompass virtualization, cloud, edge, and functional splits. 5G requires increasing sophistication from mobile operators. The challenge is to bring together a growing number of LTE and 5G radio access technologies. A range of connectivity services are needed. Associated APIs are needed in each small cell to manage connectivity to a number of customer segments.
The major driving forces behind the Small Cell market are:
- Need for enabling the evolution of local communications network
- Availability of fully virtualized, distributed, ultra-reliable software
- Effective software for controlling agile infrastructure
- Automation facilitates large-scale low-cost network densification
- Lowers cost by implementing network through third-party deployments
- Effective integration of base small cell technologies
- Systems integration achieved with open and interoperable standards
- Open and interoperable standards needed to ensure competition
- Open and interoperable standards needed to ensure economies of scale
- Adoption of these 5G Era technologies will require culture shifts in processes
Small cells need infrastructure across a broad range of commercial and governmental organizations. Service providers are focused on densification. Each has a part to play in making small cells work along with tower infrastructure to create a broadband commercial network. Small cells are a critical part of the infrastructure for several key 5G era deployment scenarios.
According to the ResearchandMarkets.com report, some critical issues related to Small Cell infrastructure include:
- Service providers are focused on densification
- Small cells are a critical part of the infrastructure for key 5G implementations
- 5G deployment needs small cells
- >6 GHz spectrum propagation limits cell sizes
- Shared and license-exempt spectrum mandates lower power
- Areas of hyper-dense broadband traffic need small cells
- Small cells meet demand in cities, stadia, transport hubs
- Scalable deployment
- Low-cost deployment
- Using a low-skilled, third-party, or end-user workforce
- Small/medium enterprises requiring self-deployed indoor coverage
- Coverage extension in rural, remote, moving and temporary deployment
- Scenarios with equipment size, weight or power constraints
The digital economy, self-driving cars, drones, traffic lights, and smart things all need more wireless coverage. According to the leader of the team that prepared the research, Small cell suppliers have a focus on broadband improvement. Power and performance are being improved. Small cells improve the transmission coverage and density. This 5G coverage is needed as IoT, the Internet of things and smartphone video increase transmission needs.
Click here to read the full report.
