The size of the radio access network (RAN) optimization solutions market will touch $6.3 billion in 2020 from more than $4 billion in 2015, said ABI Research.
The wide adoption of the RAN technology in developing markets, notably Latin America, is one of the main growth drivers.
“Out of the six solutions addressed, we expect automatic cell planning to grow the fastest, increasing by more than 18 percent year-on-year by 2020,” said Lian Jye Su, research analyst at ABI Research.
The telecom research report said traditional optimization solutions, such as RF and KPI optimization and performance management, will start to decline in 2017 and be replaced by automated solutions, such as automatic cell planning and self-organizing network.
While Ericsson focuses on developing in-house expertise for RAN optimization, Nokia Networks opts for acquisition. Nokia Networks’ acquisition of rival Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson’s deal with Cisco strengthened their position as top competitors in the RAN optimization market.
Huawei and ZTE will continue to grow. Small telecom vendors will either continue to merge with companies that offer full suites of services or gain ground as niche players before being bought out by top tier vendors.
The growth of new RAN optimization solutions in developing markets will be at a faster rate. North America will experience the largest growth, but Latin America and Asia will follow closely behind.
The introduction of small cells, picocells and femtocells, as well as distribution antenna system and C-RAN, leaves MNOs with an increasingly dynamic and complex heterogeneous network. As MNOs can ill afford to maintain a complex network without a large pool of engineers, RAN is an opportunity for smart, automatic network optimization solutions to help mobile operators reduce Capex and Opex.
