The point-to-point Microwave Transmission equipment market declined 12 percent worldwide in 2012 to $4.2 billion as radio transceiver shipments declined 6 percent to 1.5 million, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group.
"The market for microwave backhaul was truly impacted by surprisingly low demand in the European region," said Jimmy Yu, Vice President of Microwave Transmission research at Dell'Oro Group. "Although the market really took a step back this year, there were a couple of bright spots. The first was the growth in sales in the North American region as operators expanded their Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. The second was the greater usage of ultra-high-capacity links using E-band frequencies to deliver a full gigabit of backhaul capacity to cell towers," Yu added.
Some highlights:
- The North American region was the only region to achieve significant positive growth in 2012, growing 13 percent. Alcatel-Lucent captured the majority of the North American market, garnering 44 percent market share.
- Microwave sales in the European region pulled back sharply in 2012, declining 28 percent. Ericsson held the highest share of the European market at 32 percent.
- Ultra-high-capacity radio transceiver shipments grew nearly 60 percent in 2012.
