5G and network convergence drives growth of carrier-grade Wi-Fi market

The advent of 5G and smart city applications is driving the market for carrier Wi-Fi products, with the market expected to be worth $3.5 billion over the next four years.

By 2022, IHS Markit predicts sales will have reached $725 million a year as fixed and mobile operators deploy Wi-Fi and dual mode (Wi-Fi and cellular) access points to densify their infrastructure.

Carrier-grade Wi-Fi will help operators cope with the anticipated growth in data by allowing them to offload traffic onto fixed networks in busy locations such as city centres or football stadiums.

5G era

“The arrival of the 5G era will gradually transform network architectures, but the requirements for network density mean that Wi-Fi will continue to play a strong support role for mobile broadband end-users and for newer applications such as the Internet of Things and smart city,” said Richard Webb, director of research and analysis for service provider technology at IHS Markit. “We expect an uptick in carrier Wi-Fi investments through 2020, aligned with 5G network development.”

One area of growth is SIM-based access points, which will help facilitate visions of converged networks, which do not distinguish between fixed, wireless and cellular networks.

Last week, BT offered some more details about its vision for convergence, while Vodafone hopes to acquire a number of cable networks in Europe from Liberty Global for the same purpose.

Another trend noticed by analysts is the continued penetration of network function virtualisation (NFV), which could deliver numerous benefits for fixed and mobile operators such as reduced power consumption thanks to better management, richer analytics, and location-based services.

 Want to find out more about 5G? Check out our dedicated 5G hub   

Steve McCaskill is TechRadar Pro's resident mobile industry expert, covering all aspects of the UK and global news, from operators to service providers and everything in between. He is a former editor of Silicon UK and journalist with over a decade's experience in the technology industry, writing about technology, in particular, telecoms, mobile and sports tech, sports, video games and media. 

Latest in Pro
A trough sensor at Overbury farm
“It's wildlife working for you” - how Agri-Tech can help revolutionize British farming as we know it
Epson EcoTank ET-4850 next to a TechRadar badge that reads Big Savings
I found the best printer deal you won't see in the Amazon Spring Sale and it's got a massive $150 saving
NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition
Nvidia's most expensive Blackwell card gets massive price cut but it is not the RTX 5090
Microsoft Copiot Studio deep reasoning and agent flows
Microsoft reveals OpenAI-powered Copilot AI agents to bosot your work research and data analysis
Group of people meeting
Inflexible work policies are pushing tech workers to quit
Data leak
Top home hardware firm data leak could see millions of customers affected
Latest in News
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Rennovations
Disney’s giving a classic Buzz Lightyear ride a tech overhaul – here's everything you need to know
Hisense U8 series TV on wall in living room
Hisense announces 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, with screen sizes up to 100 inches – and a surprising smart TV switch
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
Opera AI Tabs
Opera's new AI feature brings order to your browser tab chaos
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead