The escalating build-outs of 3.5G and 4G mobile networks will continue to propel the point-to-point microwave industry as radio shipments with higher capacities will become the norm, a new report from Visant Strategies finds.

 "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."

"This is like the last set of network upgrades. Now carriers are now preparing backhaul networks for planned upgrades to HSPA+, EV-DO Rev B, LTE, and WiMAX over the next two to five years," added Larry Swasey of Visant Strategies.

The study finds links with greater than 155 Mbps are expected to account for 35% of shipments in 2013 and 40% in 2014. Current and projected future capacity requirements per site are resulting in the employment of higher frequency bands, and in some cases replacement of wired backhaul with wireless solutions, according to the study.

PTP microwave revenues reached over $5 billion in value in 2007 and are expected to top $6 billion in 2008, according to the report.

Shipments of PTP microwave radios for public safety and enterprise applications both experienced double digital growth year-to-year, the report finds, and Trunking applications accounted for 17% of all PTP microwave radio shipments this past year.

Source: Visant Strategies