Salem, NH September 25, 2023: Worldwide shipments of radio units (RU) and active antenna units (AAU) for mobile wireless networks across all generations and air interfaces declined by 7% in 2022 from 2021 levels, according to the latest report from EJL Wireless Research titled “Global Macrocell Radio Unit/Active Antenna Unit (RU/AAU) Market Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2027 5th Edition.” “Massive MIMO AAU shipments increased 45% in 2022 however this was not enough to offset a 20% decline in non-massive MIMO RUs,” says founder and President, Earl Lum. EJL Wireless Research is forecasting near to mid-term weakness for the radio market as demand weakens in China, offsetting strong shipment growth in India. Our current view for 2023 RU/AAU shipments is for a decline of 13% as 5G NR massive MIMO AAU shipments overtake legacy LTE/UMTS/GSM RU shipments.
“The continued evolution of the RU products from single band to dual/triple band products is driving the decline in overall 4T4R RUs shipments. While the combined 4T4R segment remained the largest at 60% share in 2022, we expect share gains from the 64T64R massive MIMO segment in 2023 to reach near parity in 2023,” says Lum.
“Within the Open RAN/vRAN compliant radio market, the traditional correlation of RU/AAU vendor to DU/BBU vendor becomes blurry as some mobile operators mix/match radio solutions with varying degrees of success. We do not expect to see complete radio performance parity of Open RAN RU/AAU solutions with purpose built solutions in the near/mid-term of our forecast and possibly never,” says Lum.■
For more information on our detailed reports, consulting services, and design analysis services, contact Earl J. Lum directly at (650) 430-2221 or elum@ejlwireless.com. We invite you to subscribe to our Email Updates, or meet with us at upcoming wireless conferences and events. Discover why EJL Wireless Research is the preferred choice for wireless market intelligence.
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