Survey Sez: Carriers Ramp Network-Planning Spending

Telecom operators worldwide spent $488 million on network planning and optimization software in 2011, and that market will grow at a 7-percent CAGR between 2011 and 2016.

New research from Analysys Mason says this growth – more than three times the CAGR of operator revenue from telecoms services – is being driven by spiraling data usage due to video streaming, LTE technologies, the increasing complexity of networks that include Wi-Fi and small-cell solutions, and the increased focus of operators on improving the customer experience.??

Of the four service segments analyzed by the firm (mobile, public switched telephone networks [PSTN], business and residential broadband), spending on software for mobile services is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 8.4 percent between 2011 and 2016, while PSTN is predicted to grow by just 3.3 percent during the same period.??

Explains Mark Mortensen, principal analyst, “Complex heterogeneous mobile network architecture is making sophisticated planning and optimization systems necessary for operators as is a renewed focus on customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage.”??

The Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) is the region predicted to have the highest CAGR (12 percent) in spending in the network planning and optimization software market during the forecast period, the group adds, while growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is predicted to be less than half that – 5.2 percent.??

“Deal activity is expected to continue to pick up in Latin America, while persisting economic and market uncertainties in Europe will curtail growth to some extent,” Mortensen notes.