Mobile Experts has released a new forecast, charting the future of advanced processors for 5G and 6G base stations. The new report is the first comprehensive and detailed forecast of baseband processors in wireless infrastructure, with a detailed analysis of the shift from ASICs and FPGAs to a more complex world of vRAN systems on chip (SoCs), semi-custom ICs, off-the-shelf solutions, and acceleration solutions.
The new report, Semiconductors for BBU / DU / CU 2023, illustrates how the cost of developing an ASIC has risen with the migration from 10nm to 3nm CMOS, and how the relatively small size of the mobile infrastructure market makes a line-up of fully customized ASICs difficult to justify.
A second new Expert INSIGHT report titled "How AI will Impact the Mobile Network" was also released this week.
The new reports provide clear technical and economic analysis, to illustrate how the processor opportunity will shift in character distinctly to solutions that re-use elements that are developed for other applications. The BBSEMI report includes market share tracking of today's BBU, DU, and CU chip vendors to validate the trends identified. The forecasting spans five years for detailed technical questions and 10 years for broader analysis of the direction of the chip market, to show the rise of new approaches in the 5G-Advanced and 6G cycle.
"The 5G cycle is peaking now and will start to decline for a few years," commented Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts. "As the market realigns for 6G, we expect to see the semiconductor marketplace realign as well, with off-the-shelf chip options becoming a significant portion of the total, and semi-custom ICs replacing the previous pattern of ASICs with customization of every function."
Subscribers will receive:
- Full access to the 45-page Semiconductors for BBU / DU / CU 2023 report;
- 40 comprehensive charts and figures;
- Detailed technical background and architectural analysis;
- Cost analysis of how various chip solutions are used; and
- Access to the analysts behind the reports.
Click here to learn more about the report titled "Semiconductors for BBU / DU / CU 2023".
