Spending on LTE equipment surpassed WiMAX spending for the first time in the second quarter, with global LTE market revenues coming in at about $600 million (€435 million) and WiMAX coming in at $500 million (€363 million), according to Infonetics Research.
But that doesn't mean WiMAX isn't experiencing strong growth, said Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and small cells at Infonetics Research. He said the technology continues to see solid performance, finding growth in new niches, including utility networks. "Despite now being overtaken by LTE, as had been expected, UQ's (Japan) investment in 802.16m shows there is an alternative 4G roadmap," Webb said in a statement.
Moreover, the firm said growth in the overall infrastructure market--2G, 3G and 4G--continues to surge, with equipment spending up 25.2 per cent year-over-year and up 4.5 per cent from the first quarter to the second quarter.
"Although LTE and 4G continue to make the headlines, GSM was definitely the 2Q11 reality, with massive capacity upgrades in China and India. In addition, 2G and 3G network modernization with multi-standard base transceiver stations continues to be strong and will remain the main theme throughout the second half of 2011," Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure at Infonetics, said in a statement.
The firm also also predicts that a cumulative total of nearly $250 billion (€181 billion) will be spent on mobile infrastructure from 2011 to 2015.
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