By Marc Lippe, Director, Worldwide Field and Corporate Marketing, Infovista
In this month's roundup of industry news, issues and updates, we feature a blip in Carrier Ethernet equipment sales, growing LTE connectivity and availability, the viability of 5G networks and the rapid roll-out of Wi-Fi.
Telecom Lead: Carrier Ethernet equipment market dips 3% to $34 billion in 2012 — May 7th
Although the Carrier Ethernet equipment market declined 3 percent between 2011 and 2012, Infonetics predicts steady and significant growth in this space. In fact, recent research conducted by the firm hypothesizes that the market will gross more than $39 billion in 2017, up from $34 billion last year. The firm also predicts that the North American market will overtake EMEA before 2017, securing the 2nd place position behind the Asia-Pacific region.
GigaOM: Global LTE connections quadruple to 100M in less than a year — May 10th
According to Wireless Intelligence, global LTE subscribers grew from 27 million in July 2012 to 100 million in May 2013 — that's nearly 300 percent in just nine months! This growth is primarily attributed to the growing availability of the new network technology. For instance, in the U.S., Korea, Australia and Japan, an estimated four out of five people live in an LTE coverage area, accounting for 90 million of today's 100 million worldwide subscribers. By 2017, the total number of worldwide subscribers is predicted to reach 900 million with connectivity in 120 countries.
RCR Wireless News: Samsung Announces 5G Breakthrough — May 13th
This year at CTIA, Samsung announced that it has found a way to transmit data in the millimeter-wave frequencies, allowing for 5G communication several hundred times faster than current 4G network speeds. While the technology likely won't be ready for commercial use until 2020, Samsung hopes to improve data transmission speeds to 1.056 gigabits per second.
FierceBroadbandWireless: Yankee Group: Is there a small market for small cells? — May 28th
Today, we are witnessing the rapid rollout of Wi-Fi solutions with massive uptake in public places such as restaurants, coffee shops and bookstores, among many others. As a result, operators are able to provide a truly mobile experience with Wi-Fi, enabling roaming and other functionality on these small-area networks. But, with all the resources that are being dedicated to building out Wi-Fi, does that leave enough budget for small cell rollouts?
If you're interested in learning more about these topics, I invite you to visit Infovista's website to see how we empower communications service providers and IT-intensive enterprises to deliver high-performing and differentiated services, while cost-effectively planning, operating, optimizing and monetizing their networks.
