Yole Developpement says private network deployments will drive the RF front-end market to $320 million by 2028.
The small cell and mmWave radio radio frequency front-end (RFFE) market for telecom infrastructure is expected to exhibit significant growth between 2023 and 2028, at a CAGR of 10%. By 2023, 60% of private small cell RFFEs will still rely on GaAs platforms.
Telecom equipment manufacturers offer a diverse product portfolio including small cells, baseband units and networks.
Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Samsung offer base station solutions suitable for cellular private networks.
The telecommunications industry is exploring growth opportunities in private networks, especially with the rise of 5G private networks that can enhance services, automation and efficiency. Private networks provide exclusive wireless access to meet the security and data needs of modern enterprises.
“Private networks deployed globally are critical to digital transformation, with strong activity in Asia, China, Europe and the United States,” said Yole’s Cyril Buey. Steady growth is expected in private small cells below 6 GHz, This is driven by the increasing use of 8TRx small cells. However, 2TRx and 4TRx small cells will remain the dominant sub-6 GHz solution. "
The small cell and mmWave radio RFFE market size was valued at USD 160 million in 2022. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% to exceed $320 million by 2028. Against this dynamic backdrop, GaAs technology dominates sub-1W small cells with a CAGR of 8%.
With 44,000 wafer starts in 2022 and expected to exceed 75,000 by 2028, the industry is focused on Sub-3 GHz and C-band deployments. While the use of mmWave small cells is growing slowly, its use in FWA to connect Wi-Fi gateways is noteworthy.
“Baseband virtualization in 5G standalone architecture (V-RAN) simplifies cellular private network deployment by moving baseband and functionality to servers,” said Buey. “The two main types of private networks are independent (isolated from the public network) and shared (integrated with the MNO network).”
Private wireless networks require infrastructure (radio access network, network, equipment) and key services (network applications, security, management). The RF lines use GaAs for low power and LDMOS/GaN for higher power.
In millimeter wave radios, massive MIMO and hybrid beamforming increase the number of RF lines. The beamformer manages the RF functions and uses RFSOI, CMOS or SiGe technology with 8-32 channels.
Cellular and Wi-Fi, while similar, play different roles in the enterprise.
Private 4G/5G network architecture is complex, while Wi-Fi is simpler, user-friendly and widely compatible.
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