The size of LTE-capable antennas market reached $1.4 billion in 2013, said ABI Research. Huawei is giving competition to Kathrein and CommScope.
ABI Research’s telecom analysis also said LTE-antennas market will grow from 1.89 million antennas in 2013 to 3.14 million in 2018.
A large part of this growth in sales is being primed by the need for Multiple In, Multiple Out (MIMO) antennas which is a key ingredient to make LTE, and LTE-Advanced in particular, ultra-fast.
Furthermore, the demand for additional LTE spectrum bands is encouraging operators to invest for the long-term by selecting multi-band and ultrawide-band antennas.
From 2014, the proportion of LTE-antennas shipped that will be multi-band will grow markedly, from 30 percent to 68 percent in 2018.
“The spotlight is often cast onto the latest and greatest smartphones and LTE download speeds, which underpin the end-user’s mobile video streaming, Facebook account browsing, and/or WhatsApp instant messaging habits. And yet the mobile operator’s antenna is the lynchpin in the whole experience,” said Jake Saunders, VP and mobile carrier strategy practice director.
Competition in the antenna segment has been heating up recently.
Kathrein and CommScope (Andrew) are leading the antenna market.
However, Huawei is able to build up base station relationships with operators in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and Africa which include utilizing its own antennas.
