In a new report, market research firm Dell'Oro Group says the mobile backhaul equipment market – consisting of transport equipment as well as routers and switches – will reach $8 billion by 2018.

"Mobile backhaul will be a critical contributor to carrier microwave, routing, and switching growth over the next five years," said Jimmy Yu, vice president of mobile backhaul market research at Dell'Oro Group. "We anticipate the pace of cell site deployments will gradually increase over this period as operators expand their LTE footprint and begin to roll out small cells. We also expect outdoor small cell backhaul to drive at least 10% of mobile backhaul revenue by 2018."

The market for routers and switches for mobile backhaul is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%, and to compose nearly 35% of total mobile backhaul market revenue by 2018. The primary growth driver will be the shift to a packet-based backhaul network as operators roll out 4G LTE and LTE-advanced mobile services.

Dell’Oro forecasts the transport portion of mobile backhaul will grow at a 2% CAGR. The primary growth driver for transport will be the addition of new macro and small cell sites, along with the upgrade of any older low-capacity backhaul systems, the company believes.

The “Mobile Backhaul 5-Year Forecast Report” from Dell'Oro Group offers “a comprehensive overview of market trends and forecasts, including tables covering manufacturers' revenue, backhaul links, and average selling price forecasts for mobile backhaul transport, routers, and switches,” the market research firm asserts. The report also includes information about worldwide and regional cellular subscriber numbers and cell sites.

For more information on IP routers and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.