Mobile Experts (Campbell, CA) this week released the 2019 update to its longstanding research on the Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) market. In the new report, the analyst breaks down the shift from Carrier DAS to Enterprise DAS systems, and the impact of new platforms such as neutral CBRS infrastructure on the DAS market.
The bottom line, according to Mobile Expters, is that DAS has been weakening in the recent past—but the next few years will see key transformations as 5G materializes. "In the midst of LTE and 5G transitions, the DAS industry is faced with a slew of challenges, not all of them surmountable," warns the firm's principal analyst, Kyung Mun.
Mun adds, "But while traditional DAS will hold steady in specific large venues, the overall market for in-building wireless (IBW) continues to grow and evolve. We expect IBW to incorporate new indoor solutions that can make the transition from LTE to 5G and provide scalable capacity and coverage solutions for the Enterprise DAS market that we have been talking about for some time."
Mobile Experts believes that the traditional DAS architecture will remain fairly stable in addressing the Carrier DAS market mostly in high-density, large public venues like stadiums and airports. In the report, a special section on Public Safety identifies this segment as a strong, ongoing driver for long-term DAS deployment. Further, the analyst foresees a bright future for Tier-1 driven Distributed Radio System (DRS) solutions in carrier-dominant markets like China where the neutral-host infrastructure sharing is not commonplace.
Nonetheless, "Open RAN virtualized solutions offer an exciting opportunity for IBW suppliers to potentially create combined coverage and capacity solutions that can scale across different market segments," observes Mobile Experts' chief analyst Joe Madden. He adds, "Neutral hosts will create new indoor solutions that can evolve from LTE to 5G and provide scalable capacity and coverage solutions for the enterprise market."
After ten years, the 2019 DAS report will be the last in the DAS series from Mobile Experts. In 2020 and beyond, the analyst says it will expand this report into a comprehensive look at the IBW market that will acknowledge solutions such as repeaters, small cells, DRS, CBRS, ORAN, as well as DAS. This broader scope covering indoor challenges and product solutions will serve to illuminate the changing DAS market, and deliver crucial analysis for evolving business models associated with bringing 5G indoors, concludes Mobile Experts.