Global small cell rollouts delivered strong, double-digit year-over-year growth last year, with 1.7 million units shipped and $1.5 billion in revenue, according to a research note from IHS Markit.
The research firm published its H1 2017 “Small Cell Equipment Biannual Market Tracker” report, covering the half-year that ended December 31, 2016. Unit shipments rose 43% year over year, while revenue increased 26% over the same period.
Much of this growth was driven by increased deployments in rural and remote areas, along with strong indoor small cell activity from enterprise and urban segments that are expanding public venue coverage. For the first time in 2016, the volume of indoor units surpassed outdoor units.
Regionally, Asia Pacific led all areas in service provider small cell unit shipments, accounting for 59% of the global total in 2016. North America ranked second, followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa; the Caribbean and Latin America trailed behind. IHS Markit’s long-term forecast anticipates the global small cell market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% from 2016 through 2021, reaching approximately $2.2 billion by the end of that period.
The Small Cell Forum, an industry body focused on small cell development and best practices, published Release 8 in November, which outlines technical and commercial guidance for operators. That release combines lessons learned from real-world NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) deployments with small cell strategies at the network edge, providing practical guidance for operators building next-generation networks.