Emerging as one of the most pivotal business spaces defined by the ongoing demand for efficient network connection, radio access network market is poised to garner substantial gains in the upcoming years. Undeniably, the growth can be ascribed to the burgeoning demands for next gen 5G network.
In essence, radio access networks form an integral part of the telecommunication systems connecting the individual devices to various other parts of a network via the radio connections. Subsequently, RAN is positioned between any user equipment and is developed to offer the connection with the core network.
Proliferation of the use of 5G network and multiplying data incentive applications have enabled the telecom operators to enhance the cellular coverage on a large scale. Not to mention, the government bodies are undertaking significant initiatives to aid the commercialization of the 5G network. Say for instance, earlier in 2018, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) structured the interstate communication services in the US and issued a 1,550 megahertz spectrum to bring to use the 5G network for the commercial wireless providers.
Introduction of favorable government initiatives for the technological enhancements across the telecom sector is expected to support the ascending growth graph of the radio access network industry during 2019-2025. It is imperative to know that the Indian government has announced investing nearly USD 100 billion by the end of 2022 in a latest National Telecom Policy 2018 whilst supporting the telecom developments.
Below are the trends that have positively influenced the potential growth of the global RAN market size:
Robust urbanization addressing the need for femtocell sites
Replete with rapid urbanization and high penetration of cellular networks, the world is increasingly preparing itself for an expansive deployment of 5G cellular network. The current cellular network infrastructures are facing umpteen challenges owing to poor network coverage.
The growing connection challenges call for the development of femtocells which are expected to augment the indoor cellular coverage in the overpopulated regions. These cells enable the service providers to offer its customers an improved indoor connectivity across small working areas.
Estimates claim that the femtocell segment accounted over 50 per cent of the global market share in 2018 and is probable to grow at a commendable pace over the forecast period.
Unprecedented small cell deployment demands from suburban regions
The lack of proper connectivity and network across the suburban and rural areas has led to an urgent need for the deployment of small cell connectivity systems. Evidently, the traditional LTE systems have been proven to be highly expensive and are complex due to unending requirements by the mobile operators.
On account of the requirement for efficient communication, the demand for RAN solutions is exponentially mounting in these regions. The reason for considering small cells over macrocells as base stations for cellular network is the potential of innumerable small cells to be positioned rapidly over a large area as compared to other base stations.
The placement of large volumes of small cells in the suburban and rural regions would allow the segment to depict a CAGR of 6 per cent through the projected timeframe.
High 5G network penetration in APAC region
Notably, Asia-Pacific would be one of the rapidly evolving regions in the RAN market with an anticipated growth rate of approximately 8 per cent through 2025.
The emergence and high penetration of 5G cellular networks across the region, chiefly led by India and China, will act as a primary driver for the regional RAN industry growth. According to credible sources, India has securely held a prominent position in the global market on the grounds of sales of more than 40 million smartphones during the third quarter of 2017.
Evidently, several industry majors are building up alliance with other technology companies to advance the innovative radio access solutions. A major breakthrough in this is the partnership between Rakuten and Intel to analyze a complete virtualized RAN solution.
With the 5G network currently witnessing myriad investments for its global commercialization, the worldwide radio access network industry size is forecast to record an outstanding remuneration of USD 15 billion by 2025.