Total worldwide wireless operator capital expenditure (capex) will increase by 5.9 per cent by the end of 2014, a slower rate than 2013. According to latest forecasts from ABI Research, the number will reach $185.5 billion (€148 billion) as large capex is expected in developing regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific. ABI Research expects that radio access networks (RAN) and core networks will continue to represent significant portions of equipment spend. The spending on macrocell RAN is expected to reach $37 billion by the end of 2014, while spending on small cell RAN will reach $2.1 billion. On the other hand, core network spending will continue to drop by 0.1 per cent. Release