5G and LTE CBRS market to exceed $1.3bn by 2027

Annual spending in the US on Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) networks will surpass $1.3bn by 2027, driven by private cellular, neutral host and fixed wireless broadband network deployments, along with a slow but steady expansion of investments in 5G buildouts to enhance cable operators’ mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services, according to research.

SNS Telecom & IT’s LTE & 5G NR-based CBRS networks: 2024-2030 report noted that the three-tiered, hierarchical framework for coordinated shared use of 150MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz CBRS band is experiencing a renewed wave of enthusiasm.

As a result, the analyst expects annual investments in LTE and 5G NR-based CBRS radio access networks (RAN), mobile core and transport network infrastructure to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15% between 2024 and 2027 to surpass $1.3bn by the end of 2027.

This reinvigoration of interest is said to have followed many years of regulatory, standardisation and technical implementation activities. The relaxation of rules and guidelines – collectively referred to as CBRS 2.0 – extends uninterrupted commercial operations in the CBRS band from 78% to 97% of the total US landmass, among other refinements.

In addition, there has been a boost from new proposals by US regulator the Federal Communications Commission aimed at fostering innovation and continued growth of CBRS networks through additional changes to the spectrum-sharing framework. These range from higher transmit power levels to interference protection for critical private network users in indoor facilities. 

Although the shared spectrum arrangement is access technology neutral, the analyst stressed that the 3GPP cellular wireless ecosystem is at the forefront of CBRS adoption, with close to half of the more than 400,000 active CBRS devices being based on standardised LTE and 5G NR air interface technologies.

The report noted that LTE-based CBRS deployments encompass hundreds of networks – operating in both General Authorised Access (GAA) and Priority Access License (PAL) spectrum tiers – to support use cases including mobile network densification, fixed wireless access (FWA) in rural communities, MVNO offload and private cellular networks in support of the industrial internet of things (IIoT), distance learning and smart city initiatives.

Additionally, there has been a surge in the adoption of CBRS small cells as a cost-effective alternative to distributed antenna systems (DAS) for delivering neutral host public cellular coverage in carpeted enterprise spaces, public venues, hospitals, hotels, higher education campuses and schools. Examples of LTE-based CBRS networks supporting neutral host connectivity to one or more national mobile operators include Meta’s corporate offices, City of Hope Hospital and the University of Virginia.

Commercial roll-outs of 5G NR network equipment operating in the CBRS band are also well underway, and are said to be laying the foundation for advanced application scenarios with more demanding performance requirements in terms of throughput, latency, reliability, availability and connection density. Examples of these encompass Industry 4.0 applications such as connected production machinery, mobile robotics, automated guided vehicles and augmented reality-assisted troubleshooting.

SNS Telecom & IT also highlighted 5G NR-based CBRS network installations ranging from private 5G projects at the manufacturing and logistics facilities of Tesla, Toyota Material Handling, BMW Group, John Deere, LG Electronics and Walmart, to Comcast and Charter’s ongoing 5G RAN buildouts based on strand-mounted CBRS radios.

Going forward, the analyst predicted that much of the growth in the sector will be driven by private cellular, neutral host and fixed wireless broadband network deployments, followed by a slow but steady expansion of investments in 5G buildouts aimed at improving the economics of cable operators’ MVNO services. Complemented by an ever-expanding selection of 3GPP Band 48/n48-compatible terminal equipment, SNS Telecom & IT forecasts the market size for end user devices is even bigger, with unit shipments of IIoT and FWA devices projected to account for $2.4bn in annual sales by 2027.