Mobile infrastructure market to surge 10% in 2004

August 6, 2004

In a newly published report, Dell'Oro Group predicts that the total mobility infrastructure market, including GSM/GPRS/EDGE, TDMA, CDMA, and WCDMA, will surge 10% in 2004 to $31.4 billion, following three years of decline. According to the Dell'Oro Group report, the bulk of the growth will come from new worldwide WCDMA build-outs, as well as a spike in GSM/GPRS/EDGE sales due to pent-up demand in Western Europe, and new build-outs in China, India, and other developing nations.

"The total radio or bearer capacity, as measured in number of voice channels shipped, will skyrocket, increasing by 54 percent in 2004 to 46 million channels," commented Greg Collins, Senior Director of mobile infrastructure research at Dell'Oro Group. "However, price declines will offset much of the increase in radio and base station shipments, resulting in muted revenue growth."

According to the Dell'Oro Group report, WCDMA equipment voice channels will more than double in 2004 and will eclipse those of GSM/GPRS/EDGE, which have until now been the dominant technology. The report also predicts that new demand from developing regions, as well as infrastructure upgrades in China and the United States, will fuel ongoing growth in equipment shipments. In addition, the report indicates that in terms of average annual subscribers, the market will grow 10% from 2003 to 2008, with particular strength in GSM/GPRS/EDGE.

About the Report

The Dell'Oro Group Mobility Infrastructure 5-Year Forecast Report offers complete, in-depth coverage of the market with tables covering revenue, units, transceivers or RF carriers, and price forecasts for Base Station Controllers, Base Transceiver Stations, and Mobile Switching Centers for GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA, TDMA, and WCDMA.