In a new report, Gartner predicts that the worldwide 5G network infrastructure market will see 39% in revenue growth in 2021. The estimates place the revenue at $19.1 billion, surpassing 2020 figures ($13.7 billion).
Michael Porowski, the senior principal research analyst at Gartner, said that demand for ultrafast and optimized connectivity spiked during the pandemic.
Since so many people are working from home, they are using bandwidth-hungry apps while streaming video, playing games online, or running work apps. He added that business and customer demand is an influential factor to the growth too.
Changes driving the 5G market
Porowski said that consumers are returning to the office, where they will upgrade to or switch to gigabit fibre for home connectivity, which has become essential for hybrid and fully remote work environments.
The users, Porowski predicts, will also be looking to CSPs (communications service providers) for office and remote work needs.
These changes in the market are driven by an acceleration in the development of 5G networks in 2020/21, thanks to CSPs in mature markets. Gartner found that 5G accounted for 39% of the total wireless infrastructure revenue in 2021.
What happens next
The report added that the investment in wireless infrastructure is rapidly declining across many regions since CSPs are moving to 5G small cells.
CSPs across North America will hit $4.3 billion in 5G revenue this year, up from $2.9 billion last year, driven by the increased adoption of dynamic spectrum sharing and millimetre-wave base stations.
CSPs in Europe are focused on licensing spectrum, modernizing the core mobile infrastructure, and dealing with regulatory processes. The 5G revenue slowly grew from $794 million last year to almost $2 billion in 2021. The Greater China region is still in the top spot, with $9.1 billion in revenue this year.
6 hours ago
