LatAm telecom RAN market returns to growth

The radio access networks (RAN) market in Latin America recovered in Q2 with a two-digit revenue growth year-over-year, after nine consecutive quarters of contractions, Stefan Pongratz, vice president of telecom consultancy Dell'Oro Group, told BNamericas. 

These bright results, comprising sales of cellular networks and related wireless gear by Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei, among others, come after an overall market decline of over 30% in 2020, according to Pongratz.

Besides, vendor revenues in the region remain at pre-pandemic levels.

“Of course, the results in the quarter are great news, but it is still early to tell if this is the start of a new trend. Over time, though, we do expect conditions to improve,” Pongratz told BNamericas.

According to Dell’Oro’s recently published market report, the global RAN ranking did not change in Q2, with China’s Huawei and ZTE being respectively number 1 and 2 suppliers in China and Ericsson and Nokia maintaining their respective number 1 and 2 positions outside China.

The report said the global RAN market remains on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth. The consultancy revised upward the short-term outlook, and the market is now projected to grow 10-15% in 2021.

The global RAN market continued to operate at elevated levels in Q2, showing resilience in the face of various risks, including the pandemic, supply chain shortages and export restrictions, Dell’Oro said.

“The underlying long-term growth drivers have not changed and continue to reflect the shift from 4G to 5G, new FWA and enterprise capex, and the transitions towards active antenna systems,” Pongratz wrote in the report.

“At the same time, a string of indicators suggest this output acceleration is still largely driven by the shift from 4G to 5G, which continued at a torrid pace in the quarter, even as LTE surprised on the upside,” he added.

Pongratz has not shared specifics on the Latin American region. 

Previously, Dell’Oro had estimated that Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia together had 95% of the telecoms vendor market in the region.

Specifically on 5G, Ericsson's latest public update included 144 commercial 5G agreements, 82 publicly announced contracts and 94 live 5G networks globally.

In Latin America, the company reports public 5G networks with DirectTV in Colombia and Claro in Brazil, although it is also known that Ericsson is providing equipment for Entel in Chile, for example.

Nokia reports 175 global commercial 5G contracts, 68 live 5G operator networks and over 230 commercial 5G agreements.

The Finnish group lists public commercial 5G contracts (DSS included) with five telcos in Latin America and the Caribbean: Uruguay's Antel, Aruba's Setar, Ecuador's CNT, Telefónica Chile and Telecom Argentina.