HETNET INFRASTRUCTURE MARKET ANALYSIS

Heterogeneous network (HetNet) is a combination of different types of mobile communication networks. A modern mobile communication HetNet consists of different cell types and access technologies. A typical HetNet is a combination of legacy systems such as GSM, UMTS, and modern radio access technologies such as LTE, Wi-Fi, and others. Furthermore, use of HetNet provides several benefits such as companies can provide better customer experience compared to that of homogeneous networks. This is achieved by integrating different types of technologies and cell layers depending upon topology and network area. A smooth transition between the different layers and radio interfaces is possible without any input from the user.

Factors driving growth of the global HetNet infrastructure market:

Service providers are facing high pressure from consumers to deliver good quality networks at affordable prices. Unlike earlier, mobile network market is currently driven by customers. The consumer base of service providing companies are diverse, which includes densely populated metro areas, less populated rural areas, metro stations, shopping malls, and other places. In the metro area, people require both personal service such as Wi-Fi for home and business services such as network for company, and a small number of people in rural area mostly require personal services. Installing homogeneous networks in both urban and rural areas is not a suitable solution for service providing companies. HetNet could address this problem by providing continuous network coverage to diversified consumers.

In order to tackle this situation, service providing companies are continuously investing in heterogeneous network infrastructure by deploying small cells, Wi-Fi networks, and distributed antenna systems (DAS). This will help the companies to manage increasing coverage and capacity requirement. For instance, in February 2017, Airspan Networks Inc. entered into a strategic partnership with Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, an India-based telecommunication company. Through this partnership, Airspan could deploy small cell network across India to provide high speed internet, voice, and digital services.

Furthermore, key players are adopting new technologies such as centralized RAN (C-RAN) architecture, which has centralized functionality and can be shared across a large number of distributed radio nodes. When compared to traditional base stations, C-RAN improves network quality at low cost. Thus, increasing consumer demand for improved signal quality and increasing investment by service providing companies are expected to drive growth of the global HetNet infrastructure market over the forecast period.

However, factors such as high initial investment and maintenance cost, complex nature of power consumption, and others might hamper growth of the global HetNet infrastructure market over the forecast period.

Global HetNet Infrastructure Market: Regional Insights

On the basis of region, the global HetNet infrastructure market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. North America held a major share in the global HetNet infrastructure market in 2018, owing to the presence of large number of key players in the region such as Texas Instruments Inc., AirHop Communications, Inc., American Tower Corp., AT&T Inc., and others.

Key Players in the Global HetNet Infrastructure Market:

Key players operating in the global HetNet infrastructure market include Nokia Networks, Airhop Communications Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., NEC Corporation, Texas Instruments Inc., TE Connectivity, AirHop Communications, Inc., Airspan Networks Inc., American Tower Corp., Aricent Group, AT&T Inc., HetNet Wireless, and others.

Global HetNet Infrastructure Market: Taxonomy

On the basis of air interface technology, the global HetNet infrastructure market is segmented into:

• 2G
• 3G
• LTE
• 5G

On the basis of deployment model, the global HetNet infrastructure market is segmented into:

• Indoor
• Outdoor

On the basis of use case, the global HetNet infrastructure market is segmented into:

• Residential
• Enterprise

On the basis of technology, the global HetNet infrastructure market is segmented into:

• DSL
• Ethernet
• Microwave
• Millimeter Wave
• Satellite
• Fiber
• Others

On the basis of region, the global HetNet infrastructure market is segmented into:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Africa