Future Wireless Networks To Demand Use Of Smart Antenna Systems

date: September 22, 2001

As the need to optimize limited wireless spectrum grows, smart antennas will play a critical role in future infrastructure deployments, according to a new study by Allied Business Intelligence (ABI).

According to findings in Smart Antenna Markets: Strategies, Technologies and Trends For Next Generation Wireless Systems, global deployment of smart antenna systems will grow to over 1 million systems by 2006, from under 100,000 this year, representing a compound average annual growth (CAAG) rate of 72%.

With over US $100 billion spent on UMTS licenses in Europe alone, wireless carriers have been forced to rethink their 2.5G and 3G strategies to improve current network performance and capacity, as well as to maximize efficiencies in future infrastructure. As a result, they have been putting rising pressure on infrastructure vendors to provide equipment allowing an increase in the amount of traffic that can be generated over their spectrum while significantly reducing the number of cell sites needed. This has opened new opportunities for not only smart antennas, but other spectrum management solutions such as HTS (high temperature superconducting) filters, amplifiers, repeaters, and distributed coverage systems. Practices previously unheard of in the wireless industry such as equipment collocation and construction sharing are now being planned for future infrastructure deployments.

"Because spectrum is such a capital-intensive investment for wireless carriers, they must optimize their ROI by increasing the capacity of their networks, yet without sacrificing quality of service," according to Frank Viquez, Senior Analyst and author of the report. "Smart antennas will be one tool at their disposal to not only increase cell size and reduce capital and operating expenses, but to remain competitive."

2001 marked a pivotal year for smart antenna vendors such as ArrayComm and Metawave, who have spent years trying to prove the benefits of their smart antenna solutions to the wireless industry. Now that their technology has been validated and partnerships with infrastructure vendors have begun, the real challenge lies in deployment and software interface development.

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