Infonetics Research: Mobile backhaul equipment market growing fast, with no letup in sight

CAMPBELL, CA, May 27 (MARKET WIRE) --
Market research firm Infonetics Research recently released its Mobile
Backhaul Equipment and Services report, which tracks mobile backhaul
equipment, connections, cell sites, and service charges.

Highlights from the market research report follow, and clients are invited
to participate in an analyst-led telebriefing this week (see
https://infonetics.webex.com for times).

"Data usage on mobile networks is causing a traffic explosion on backhaul
networks, exacerbated by the popularity of bandwidth-hungry mobile phone
applications. An AT&T executive this month said 50% of the data traffic on
AT&T's mobile backhaul network is iPhone-generated, despite the fact that
only a few million of their 78 million cellular subscribers are iPhone
users. Pretty soon, likely by 2010, data traffic will surpass voice
traffic on mobile networks. Carriers everywhere are increasing the
bandwidth on their backhaul networks to handle this exploding IP data
traffic, and the most efficient, cost-effective way to do that is to
transition from TDM to packet IP/Ethernet, which is driving the mobile
backhaul equipment market," said Michael Howard, Principal Analyst -
Optical, Routing, Switching, and Ethernet - Infonetics Research.

"Roughly 60% of backhaul cell site connections are microwave in most
regions of the world and this is increasing, making microwave the largest
and fastest growing piece of the mobile backhaul market. Even North
America, a lesser adopter of microwave, is increasingly deploying it.
Microwave's scalability of both economics and bandwidth has made it the
dominant backhaul solution -- and often the only viable one -- for
addressing the capacity imperative for mobile backhaul," said Richard
Webb, Directing Analyst - WiMAX, Microwave, and Mobile Devices -
Infonetics Research.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

-- Mobile backhaul equipment investments jumped a healthy 19% in 2008 to
$4.6 billion worldwide, and revenue is set to explode over the next
5 years and beyond
-- Many factors are driving the shift to IP Ethernet backhaul; chief among
them:
-- Backhaul costs are rising
-- The number of mobile broadband phone subscribers continues to
increase, and is expected to pass the 1 billion mark in 2010
-- Bandwidth usage is surging via EDGE, EV-DO, and HSPA, and will
continue ramping with the coming new wave of HSPA+ upgrades,
WiMAX, and LTE, each allowing mobile e-mail, calendar, data, and
Internet access to popular applications like YouTube driving
mobile video downloads, MP3 files, online gaming on handsets,
application downloads, and P2P traffic
-- The most quickly changing technologies between 2008 and 2013 are
Ethernet microwave and Ethernet copper and fiber
-- In all the major world regions, operators will gradually shift to
Ethernet backhaul, although it will be a slower shift in Asia Pacific
and Central/Latin America, as a higher proportion of overall mobile
traffic remains voice for a longer period

REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics' mobile backhaul report provides worldwide and regional market
size and forecasts through 2013 for mobile backhaul equipment, mobile
backhaul connections, mobile backhaul cell sites, and mobile backhaul
service charges. The report includes regional and category analysis,
mobile operator strategies, technology roadmaps, market drivers, and more.

Equipment tracked: PDH NIU; ATM terminals, cell site gateways and
switches; SONET/SDH; Ethernet cell site gateways and routers; DSL modems
and DSLAMs; EPON and GPON ONTs and OLTs; coax cable modems and CMTS;
microwave radio (Ethernet and dual TDM/Ethernet microwave, and PDH/SDH
microwave); WiMAX base stations, satellite modems and routers; and
pseudowire and non-pseudowire enabled IP mobile backhaul equipment.

DOWNLOAD OR BUY THIS REPORT

If you're already a member of the Infonetics online portal, log in at
http://www.infonetics.com/login. Or create a new account here:
http://www.infonetics.com/cgp/newaccounts.asp.

Once on the portal, go to Download Research or Download Sales Lit, then
select MOBILE BACKHAUL AND MICROWAVE.

For sales, please contact:

-- Larry Howard, Vice President: larry@infonetics.com, +1 (408) 583-3335
-- Scott Coyne, Senior Account Director, Eastern North America, Europe,
Middle East: scott@infonetics.com, +1 (408) 583-3395

Infonetics Research is an international market research and
consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader
in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all
world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize, and compete
more effectively.

Infonetics is now on Twitter; follow us at http://twitter.com/infonetics.

Join Infonetics' online research portal to access free content and more
at: http://www.infonetics.com/cgp/newaccounts.asp

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=990401

Lead Analysts:

Michael Howard
Co-founder and Principal Analyst
Optical, Routing, Switching, and Ethernet
Infonetics Research
(408) 583-3351
Email Contact

Richard Webb
Directing Analyst
WiMAX, Microwave, and Mobile Devices
Infonetics Research
(408) 583-3369
Email Contact

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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