Infrastructure for next-generation cell-phones in Europe to be costly
LONDON--Moving to the next generation of wireless Internet services will result in a whopping $125 billion being spent over the next seven years for infrastructure equipment in Europe alone, according to a new study from the Strategis Group.
These investments will come as European operators to triple their installed base of cellular base stations from 265,000 in 2000 to 720,800 by 2007, predicts the Washington, D.C., market researcher.
With the advent of high-speed wireless-data protocols such as the general packet radio service (GPRS), Europe is already in the midst of moving from second-generation (2G) to 2.5G cellular technology. In the next phase, the region will be from the global system for mobile communications (GSM) standard to a third-generation (3G) protocol called wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA).
These technologies place "extraordinary demands for base-station and switching equipment," says Jake Saunders, an analyst for the firm. "Operators will need to install a dense array of standard, micro- and pico-base stations," he says, because wireless Internet access speeds "not only depend on how fast the end-user is moving, but also how far he or she is from the base station."
siliconstrategies.com
Jim |
