EJL Wireless Research Reports Global Macrocell RRU/AAU Shipments Down 12% in 2020

Half Moon Bay, CA May 3, 2021:  Shipments of macrocell remote radio units (RRU)/active antenna units (AAU) experienced a decline of 12% in 2020, according to the latest report from EJL Wireless Research titled “Global Macrocell RRU/AAU Market Analysis and Forecast, 2021-2025, 4th Edition.” “China and its mobile operators captured 74% of massive MIMO 5G NR AAU shipments and 39% of total RRU/AAU shipments in 2020,” says founder and President, Earl Lum. EJL Wireless Research is forecasting RRU/AAU unit shipment growth of 29% in 2021 and 14% in 2022 that is driven by 5G NR massive MIMO AAU C-Band deployments in the United States, 5G RRU deployments in China, as well as continued 5G NR RRU/AAU deployments in Europe. Additionally, dual band and triple band 4T4R RRUs will drive LTE upgrades globally.

“The massive MIMO AAU product segment is expected to decline significantly in 2021 due to a strategy shift by Chinese mobile operators. We expect this shift to be temporary and for massive MIMO AAU shipments to rebound in 2022. Additionally, we expect a shift from 64T to 32T products within the massive MIMO AAU product segment starting in 2022. Finally, we believe that the sunset of 3G networks will free up Band 1 2100MHz spectrum for 5G NR or dual mode LTE/5G NR 4T4R RRU upgrades throughout our forecast,” says Lum. ■