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Exploding mobile wireless data demand is tipping the scale - the very architecture of the 4G radio access network (RAN) must change to accomodate high-capacity indoor data usage. We are tracking the related evolution of the 4G WiMAX and LTE radio access network (RAN) towards the usage of more and smaller cells, and have assembled white papers from various industry resources.
As operators respond to the mobile broadband data explosion, they will deploy an order of magnitue higher cell density, initially in high-traffic metropolitan areas. This will open up a sizable incremental market opportunity for base station equipment vendors - reaching approximately US$ 12B - 15B in 2015.
These white papers document market acceptance and penetration of ultra-compact, SoC-based RAN equipment and examine the related real-life benefits for operators, as well as resulting architecture, cost and capacity impacts of the evolving mobile RAN architecture.
| The Emergence of Compact Base Stations in the New RAN Architecture Paradigm |
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ABI Reasearch, White Paper, May 2010
The total revenues for pico-, micro-, and macrocell Compact BTS equipment and distributed base stations for 3G/4G are expected to reach $13 billion by 2015 as shown in this research paper. This number represents the total revenue opportunity for the new RAN architectural paradigm and is expected to kick-start a brand new and incremental market in the 3G/4G wireless infrastructure space, with a large opportunity for chipset suppliers and OEMs that cater to this emerging market.
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| The Future of mobile Infrastructure: Compact Base Stations |
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In-Stat, White Paper, June 2010
Existing rack-type macro or micro base stations could be used for the smaller cells that 4G requires, but this would be extremely costly, and besides, just finding the space and having the ability to rent the properties for these larger base stations is really unrealistic. Instead, a new category of base stations will be used—compact base stations. Overall, from 2010 to 2015, In-Stat forecasts that the number of compact base stations will grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 89%.
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| Compact Base Stations - a new step in the Evolution of WiMAX Base Station Design |
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Senza Fili, White Paper, April 2010
Compact BTSs promise to bring cost savings of 38% to 47% over distributed BTSs in capex and opex during a five-year period, depending on BTS configuration and type of operator.
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