Difficult year for infrastructure providers

September 19, 2016

Spending on telecoms infrastructure has been low this year, but is expected to increase in 2017.

Telecoms infrastructure providers such as Ericsson, Alcaltel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens network are having a difficult year, and are looking to the future for things to get better.

The Asia-Pacific unit of ABI research estimates that spending on radio access network infrastructure equipment will have grown by just 3.4% by the end of 2016 to $59.3 billion.

However, pressure is mounting on network providers such as O2 and Vodafone to upgrade key elements in their networks. Many operators are expected to increase orders for infrastructure equipment in 2017.

ABI estimates that 1.6 million extra base stations will be installed by 2013 to meet extra demand in emerging markets.

Meanwhile, operators in developed markets will be looking to cut costs and improve services by upgrading base stations with cutting-edge 3.5G technologies such as HSDPA.

Network strain has been increasing with the introduction of mobile internet handsets such as the iPhone, and mid range handsets with music download, games and instant messaging features.

However, whilst network upgrades are expected, operators are likely to proceed with caution until high-speed 4G WiMAX networks become a viable option.