Don’t Discount Wireless For Metrocells
New data from Maravedis-Rethink says the macrocell wireless backhaul market will begin to decline in 2017, but metrocell backhaul, expected to grow to $4.7 billion in 2018, will more than compensate for the decline. The end result “is a healthy total wireless backhaul market of over $10 billion projected for 2018,” it adds. Also key is the idea that growth in the wireless backhaul market will happen even though wireline offerings dominate metrocell backhaul, accounting for nearly 70 percent of deployments. Says researcher Esteban Monturus, "The predominance of wireline metrocell backhaul will be driven by the need for converged fixed-mobile carriers to leverage costly investments in FTTx before spending money on dedicated metrocell wireless backhaul networks." Other findings:
- Most microwave vendors are facing challenges in supporting such high-modulation levels as 2K-QAM with their current hardware platforms.
- Deeper research still is needed regarding the real performance of line-of-sight backhaul technologies in urban canyons with multiple obstructions.