One of the questions swirling around the industry for years is when are small cells going to take off in a big way?
Maybe they already have, depending on who you talk to.
When it comes to 5G small cells specifically, their time is coming. According to ABI Research, 5G small cell deployments will accelerate around 2025 when Massive MIMO can no longer fulfill 5G capacity demands.
By 2027, there will be 13 million outdoor 5G small cell deployments globally, the firm predicts, with 5G small cell deployments overtaking 4G in 2028.
“5G small cells complement macro cells, boosting network capacity and extending coverage in dense areas where signals are weak or unavailable. They also allow network operators to derive more value from their existing spectrums by exploiting them more efficiently,” said ABI analyst Fei Liu in a press release.
Driving the surge in small cells is the demand for 5G mobile data traffic, which the firm predicts will reach 1676 Exabytes in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63%.
Compared to the previous generation small cells, 5G small cells face more challenges in design and performance, according to Liu. “5G small cells need to be smaller and lighter while supporting larger bandwidths such as 100 MHz and 200 MHz. With 5G, there is a wider range of deployment scenarios, forcing vendors to provide comprehensive solutions to support every need,” Liu said.
In the consumer market, mobile network operators in most countries are focused on macro cell deployment for 5G. The actual data traffic growth rate determines the timing and extent of the network capacity challenge.
Mass 5G small cell deployments will occur around 2025 when network capacity on the C-band spectrum should run out without additional spectrum or small cell densification, according to ABI. The firm noted that enterprises and industry verticals are already deploying 5G small cells for their private networks.