Wireless backhaul leasing appears strong, even with a gloomy economic forecast for most business areas. According to a new study from ABI Research, worldwide revenues from backhaul leasing are expected to double over the next 30 months, with the growth rate accelerating after 2012. Wireless network traffic will dramatically increase as iPhone-like devices becomes the norm and laptop PC card usage increases. The growing capital expenditure on microwave backhaul is expected to exceed $8.5 billion in 2009.
According to ABI Research Senior Analyst Nadine Manjaro, the main driver is the effort by mobile operators to prepare for an upgrade to Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular technology: "Operators might not deploy LTE immediately, but they know that before they do, they'll have to upgrade their backhaul capacity." ABI Research's new study, "Mobile Backhaul-Global Market Analysis and Forecast" provides a comprehensive analysis of the global mobile backhaul market, including forecasts by region and technology.