Spending on LTE infrastructure gear will expand to $27.9 billion globally, up from just $1.5 billion in 2010, according to report.
iSuppli reported that initially, LTE infrastructure spending will occur in North America, which accounted for $90 million out of $97 million in global LTE spending in 2009 and nearly half of worldwide spending in 2010.
This year, North America will also make up $1.7 billion of the projected $3.8 billion spent globally on LTE infrastructure. However, after 2011, spending will ramp up considerably in other regions, and North America’s influence will dwindle to less than 20 percent of overall global spending, as shown in the attached figure.
Overall, growth of LTE infrastructure spending will reach $27.9 billion by 2014, managing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of a 107.5% from $1.5 billion in 2010—a spectacular eighteenfold expansion.
“While this spending represents tremendous growth in next-generation wireless technology, carriers still will be required to support multiple air interface technologies simultaneously, as the migration to 4G and LTE will not happen overnight,” said Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst for communications and consumer electronics at IHS. “In most cases, carriers will need to offer 2.5G, 3.5G and 4G technologies in order to support all customers and roaming customers. As a result, semiconductor suppliers must focus on developing effective infrastructure solutions that not only meet the current needs of carriers but also achieve alignment with the 3G/3.5G technology migration paths of the carriers to 4G.”
Some original equipment manufacturers (OEM) already are starting to promote solutions that support migration from any previous generation to 4G, Rebello added.