Wireless operators seeking ways to automate and optimize their mobile backhaul use will invest more than $700 million yearly in self-organizing network (SON) technology by the end of 2020, estimates SNS Research. Mobile backhaul-related SON revenue is expected register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48 percent between 2014 and 2020.
SON, which also stands for self-optimizing network, was originally targeted for the radio access network (RAN) but is now being used in the mobile core and mobile backhaul segments, SNS said. SON is getting a boost thanks to large-scale backhaul requirements to serve both macrocell and small cell RAN and plays roles in provisioning, integration, bandwidth optimization and interference management.
"Amid growing demands for mobile broadband connectivity, wireless carriers are keen to capitalize on SON to minimize rollout delays and operational expenditures associated with their ongoing LTE and small cell deployments," the Dubai-based research firm said.
"SON minimizes the lifecycle cost of running a wireless carrier network by eliminating manual configuration of equipment at the time of deployment, right through to dynamically optimizing performance and troubleshooting during operation. This can significantly reduce the cost of the carrier's services, improving the OpEx to revenue ratio," SNS noted.
Aside from major infrastructure vendors such as Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Huawei and Nokia (NYSE:NOK), other SON vendors include Actix, Airhop Communications and Eden Rock Communications, among others.
For more:
- see this SNS release
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