News

15 December 2006

 

Cellular backhaul point-to-point radio GaAs market to peak in 2007

Point-to-point radio GaAs component revenues for cellular backhaul applications (where information is carried between a wireless base-station and a central wired telephone switch) will peak in 2007 then flatten from 2008 onwards as growth in unit shipment in this market slows, forecasts Strategy Analytics.

The greatest growth in cellular subscribers will be in the Asia-Pacific region through 2010, where infrastructure equipment demand will continue to increase. The traditional frequency segments will continue to dominate point-to-point radios for cellular backhaul, despite the introduction of radios operating at 60GHz and above.

“With revenues expected to flatten, GaAs device manufacturers will have to provide innovative solutions to stay ahead of competitive pressures,” says Asif Anwar, Strategy Analytics’ GaAs Service Director. “We believe a move toward packaged parts and multifunctional chips and/or multi-chip modules will help GaAs companies offset competitive threats from competing silicon technologies in the near term and provide added value to their customers to secure long-term relationships.”

“The next-generation rollout of cellular networks is focused on data, thus point-to-point radios will need to be able to offer high data capacities,” adds Stephen Entwistle, VP of the Strategy Analytics’ Strategic Technologies Practice. “We believe the growing demand for higher data rates will also lead to replacement of existing links to accommodate higher-capacity radios.” 

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