The point-to-point market will enjoy growth driven by escalating buildout of 3.5-generation and fourth-generation networks, according to a report from Visant Strategies.
The PTP microwave market generated revenues of more than $5 billion in 2007 and that figure is expected to exceed $6 billion this year.
“Growth in PTP shipments is being driven by deployment and preparation for advanced 3.5G technologies, mainly in Western Europe now, and by continued expansion of GSM networks throughout the world in emerging economies,” said report author Andy Fuertes of Visant Strategies. “Software defined radios that are upgradeable, offer high capacity and which support TDM and IP natively have become the norm for the 3.5G and 4G segment of the PTP microwave market, which is experiencing over 40% annual growth.”
The study said links with greater than 155 megabits per seconds are expected to account for 35% of shipments in 2013 and 40% of shipments in 2014. Current and projected future capacity requirements per site are resulting in the use of higher frequency bands, and sometimes replacement of wired backhaul with wireless solutions, according to the study.