Mobile Infrastructure CAPEX Expected to Peak this Year in North America

Major mobile operators in North America are nearing the end of the first wave of LTE investment. Already Verizon’s LTE network boasts impressive population coverage of more than 95%. Around 70% of the people also have access to AT&T’s LTE network. In Canada, Telus’ LTE network covers 77% of the population while Bell and Rogers are hot on its heels.

“To be sure, there is still work to be done,” says Ying Kang Tan, research associate at ABI Research. “These operators are still tuning their networks, deploying small cells to improve capacity as well as indoor coverage, preparing their networks for Voice-over-LTE, and employing carrier aggregation techniques where necessary. However, it does mean a significant portion of LTE capital expenditure has been incurred. In the whole of last year, we saw North American operators allocating US$ 92.3 of capital expenditure per subscription on average.”

The other regions will only experience their peaks in a few years’ time. One deciding factor is how efficient governments are at releasing 4G spectrum which usually comes with aggressive roll-out obligations.

“Many major emerging markets will sell off LTE spectrum in the near future, including Brazil and Mexico,” adds Jake Saunders, VP and practice director. “Next year, the progress on the transition from analogue to digital television in Africa will be an opportunity to keep an eye on. If the participating countries can all stick to the schedule, Africa could well see major investment activities in around two to three years’ time as the digital dividend spectrum becomes available.”

ABI Research’s “Mobile Operator CAPEX” Market Data focuses on the regional and global mobile operator capital expenditure which includes base station and core network spend. It is part of ABI Research’s Mobile Capex Research Service.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.