Small Cell 5G Network Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Component (Hardware, Services), By Network Model, By Network Architecture, By Deployment Mode, By Frequency Type, By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030

Small Cell 5G Network Market Size & Trends

The global small cell 5G network market size was estimated at USD 2.76 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 70.7% from 2024 to 2030. In terms of hardware volume, the market was worth 2,170 thousand units in 2023. The abruptly increasing demand for fast mobile data connectivity among consumers has increased the deployment of the next-generation 5G Radio Access Network (RAN). The rising installation of small cell 5G networks is growing across industrial, enterprise, and residential applications to provide enhanced coverage capacity at an affordable cost. In addition, the rapidly building smart cities in developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, Singapore, UK, Germany, Italy, and France have surged the deployment of small cell 5G networks for several applications, such as residential, industrial, commercial, and government, among others.

Mobile data traffic and 5G adoption is increasing rapidly across the globe. With the rising demand for 5G services, telecom service providers are investing heavily in developing and improving 5G infrastructure. As of 2022, several countries have already deployed 5G. 5G services are currently provided using the existing (non-standalone) network infrastructure. However, as the number of 5G users increases rapidly, the existing infrastructure is expected to become insufficient, and telecom operators will move to deploy standalone 5G infrastructure. Small cell 5G network is a crucial component of the overall 5G standalone (and non-standalone) ecosystem. Hence, increasing 5G demand and increasing 5G standalone network infrastructure deployment is anticipated to create significant market growth opportunities.

The deployment of next-generation small cell networks is estimated to witness a significant CAGR over the forecast period. This is attributable to the increasing demand for the 5G network from a massive chunk of customers at public locations such as offices, malls, and stadiums. Also, the demand for 5G data services for several use cases, including seamless video calling, Ultra-high Definition (UHD)/4K video, and cloud-based VR/AR gaming, is rapidly mounting. 5G small cell network can improve the overall signal performance. The growing demand for data-intensive 5G applications is anticipated to drive the market's growth over the forecast period.

Growing demand for 5G connectivity from various end-use industries is anticipated to create demand in the market. Some of the largest economies, such as the U.S. and China, are expected to continue spending insistently on provisioning healthcare facilities. The healthcare industry, especially in developed economies, has begun emphasizing remote diagnosis and patient surgeries. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled several key countries to build more robust healthcare capabilities through investing in advanced technologies such as 5G infrastructure. Thus, to deliver constant data connectivity during remote patient surgeries and telemedicine, the demand for a small cell 5G network is expected to drive market growth over the forecast period.

However, health concerns and disadvantages associated with 5G small cells are major factors that could hamper the market growth. Small cells necessitate additional power sources, distinct network backhaul arrangements, and precise positioning of their dedicated radios to ensure indoor coverage for public mobile networks. They are typically positioned alongside existing private LTE, Wi-Fi-based wireless LANs, or other secure wireless infrastructure within an enterprise. Thus, creating a separate small-cell system to extend public mobile network coverage can involve investments in time, resources, and additional expenditures for deployment and ongoing maintenance.

Market Concentration & Characteristics

The market growth stage is high, and the pace of the market growth is accelerating. The small cell 5G network industry can be characterized by a high degree of innovation with rapidly evolving technological advances. Technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being utilized to manage and optimize small cell 5G networks efficiently. These technologies enable predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and dynamic resource allocation, improving user experience and network performance.

The market is also characterized by a high level of product launch activities by leading companies. Key companies are adopting this strategy to enhance their product and service offerings in the global industry and increase the availability of their products while driving innovation in the market.

The regulatory trends play a substantial role in influencing the small cell 5G network industry. For instance, the UK regulatory bodies and government have supported 5G deployment, including small cells. Favorable policies, regulations, and investments have facilitated the rollout of small cell 5G network infrastructure, which is propelling market growth.

There are no direct substitutes available for the small cell 5G network. These factors make the service substitutes low in the industry. Small cell solutions allow network connectivity that takes benefit of an increasingly available spectrum while supporting advanced use cases across industries, including Industry 4.0 in healthcare, manufacturing and factory automation, hospitality, retail, maritime, aviation, and first responder applications.

End-user concentration is high in the global market. End-users in the small cell 5G network industry include residential, commercial, and industrial users. Various industries are adopting small cell 5G networks to enable real-time data communication for industrial IoT (IIoT) applications. This includes applications such as predictive maintenance, remote monitoring, and process optimization.

Component Insights

Based on component, the hardware segment led the market with the largest revenue share of 76.8% in 2023. The hardware segment is further bifurcated into Picocell, Femtocell, and Microcell. In terms of volume, the femtocell segment held the market with a share exceeding 63.9% in 2023. This is attributed to its increasing demand for unified bandwidth coverage for several enclosed applications such as malls, homes, offices, and hospitals. Based on their different ranges, small cells are mainly available in three categories, including femtocells, picocells, and microcells. The covering bandwidth ranges of femtocells, picocells, and microcells encompass up to 50 meters, up to 250 meters, and up to 3 Kilometers, respectively. Out of the three, femtocells rely on wired backhaul or fiber networks and tend to be the lowest-cost option for small cells, which is driving the adoption of the femtocell segment.

The Picocell segment is expected to register at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Picocells play a vital role in covering a large portion of the population, delivering high-speed internet capacity in places like stadiums, concerts, festivals, and others, which is increasing its demand in the market. Moreover, telecom service providers still face uninterrupted data services across rural areas due to line-of-sight problems. Microcells provide seamless connectivity to consumers, especially in remote or rural areas up to 3 km of distance, which is anticipated to drive the demand for microcells in the market. The aforementioned factors it is expected to stimulate the implementation of picocells and microcells over the forecast period.

The services segment is expected to register at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. The services segment is further bifurcated into consulting, deployment & integration, and training and support & maintenance. The deployment & integration segment held the market with the largest revenue share of 58.3% in 2023.

Network Model Insights

Based on network model, the non-standalone (NSA) segment led the market with the largest revenue share of 82.0% in 2023. This is attributed to the early rollouts of the non-standalone network across the globe. The non-standalone network is commonly deployed in integration with the existing legacy network infrastructure, because of which it has been a time and cost-efficient option. Besides, several key service providers, such as AT&T, Inc. and Verizon Communications, have first deployed a 5G non-standalone (NSA) network model that caters to the primary use cases, including cloud-based AR/VR gaming, mobile streaming, and UHD videos.

The standalone segment is expected to register at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. The swiftly rising digitalization in industries has paved a new revenue stream for service providers across the globe. To provide endless connectivity between machines to machines, the need for ultra-reliable high frequency with low latency communication is a prerequisite. Besides, the need for unified bandwidth capacity with minimum latency to establish seamless communication between autonomous vehicles is expected to drive market demand in the transportation & logistics segment. Therefore, the growing need for faster data speed across the verticals, as mentioned above, is anticipated to boost the deployment of the standalone network model during the forecast period.

Network Architecture Insights

Based on network architecture, the virtualized segment led the market with the largest revenue share of 61.56% in 2023. The dominating share of the segment can be attributed to a robust deployment of a small cell 5G network with a centralized baseband unit controllable architecture. This helps service providers to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increase the overall flexibility of the network by managing virtually all the small cell base stations. Besides, the introduction of Software-defined Networking (SDN) technology and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to improve the operational efficiency of the RAN network is further expected to augment the segment growth over the forecast period.

Key telecom operators are massively investing in deploying virtualized small cell 5G network infrastructure across several major countries. For instance, in September 2022, Mavenir announced the launch of high-capacity 5G small cell in-building standalone coverage for public spaces and enterprises. The 5G small cells provide flexibility supporting centralized and distributed end-to-end open radio access network (ORAN) architecture. The company’s ORAN solution offers high-capacity, ease of deployment, and cost-effective solutions for end users, such as warehousing, retail, public spaces, and manufacturing.

Deployment Mode Insights

Based on deployment mode, the indoor segment led the market with the largest revenue share of 76.0% in 2023. This is attributed to the growing demand for 5G indoor coverage. Small cells provide reliable 5G data connectivity across residential and non-residential applications. The non-residential uses mainly involve enterprises, retail malls, airports, and hospitals, among others. Moreover, the data published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) states that high-value customers are devoting over 80% of their working hours to indoor premises. As a result, it is estimated to elevate the adoption of small cells for indoor applications over the forecast period.

The outdoor segment is expected to register at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. Outdoor small cells are primarily installed for public networks in suburban, urban, or rural areas. The swiftly growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices across many applications, such as autonomous vehicles and vehicles, to infrastructure (V2I) connectivity, have generated the need for high-speed data capacity. In addition, the deployment of lamp post small cells is gaining popularity in rapidly building smart cities across the globe. This, in turn, is estimated to fuel the market growth of the outdoor segment.

Frequency Type Insights

Based on frequency type, the sub-6 GHz led the market with the largest revenue share of 54.0% in 2023. This is attributed to the enormous investments by key communication service providers in acquiring low and mid-band frequencies to provide customers with high-bandwidth services for businesses and industrial applications. Recently, governments across major countries such as the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan, and many other countries unveiled sub-6 GHz frequencies to provide high-speed internet services in their countries. Furthermore, a few key small cell 5G component providers, such as Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., unveiled a new chipset for 5G small cells, which supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave frequency bands. Owing to the advantages of supporting multi-band frequencies, the sub-6GHz and mmWave segment is anticipated to gain considerable market growth in the forecast period.

The mmWave segment is anticipated to witness at the significant CAGR over the forecast period. mmWave frequencies are high band frequencies that offer high bandwidth capacity with low latency. The spectrum bands are majorly helpful in applications where ultra-reliable connectivity is required, especially in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) connectivity and remote patient surgeries. In addition, the governments of some countries across the developed economies have released the mmWave spectrum bands to provide enhanced data services. For instance, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) released many types of mmWave frequencies, including 24.25-24.45 GHz, 24.75-25.25 GHz, 47.2-48.2 GHz, and 38.6-40 GHz, among others, with a view of delivering ultra-reliable connectivity for applications including autonomous vehicles, and AR/VR applications. Countries such as India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and Italy have released mmWave frequencies for improved data capacity across the country. This is expected to augment the mmWave segment growth from 2024 to 2030.

End-use Insights

Based on end-use, the commercial segment held the market with the largest revenue share of 42.2% in 2023. This is attributed to the growing deployment of small cell 5G networks across large as well as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the globe. This 5G RAN network helps enterprises cater to the demand for massive data capacity and coverage needs at a very affordable cost. Moreover, small cell 5G networks also help organizations utilize the existing broadband infrastructure to deploy these next-generation networks. Besides, the small cell 5G networks have seen a colossal adoption across residential applications such as smart homes, cloud gaming, and home broadband.

The robust increase in millions of Industrial IoT devices (IIoT) has created the demand for unified data connectivity to establish constant communication among these devices. These IIoT devices mainly include Ultra-HD wireless cameras, extended reality headsets, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and collaborative robots. To provide seamless connectivity with low latency, installing a small cell 5G network for industrial applications is expected to showcase massive growth over the forecast period. Moreover, another critical use case, such as asset monitoring in the energy & utility sector, is anticipated to experience strong growth in the coming years.

Regional Insights

The small cell 5G network market in North America is anticipated to grow at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. With the presence of large service providers such as AT&T Inc., Sprint Corporation; T-Mobile; and Verizon Communications, the U.S. market is also expected to grow at a significant rate over the forecast period. These prominent service providers are engaged in launching new products to gain a competitive advantage and expand their product portfolio. For instance, in June 2021, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the launch of its second generation 16 5G open radio access network (ORAN) platform for small cells - FSM200xx. This platform ensures global support, including sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) for enhanced radio frequency coverage.

U.S. Small Cell 5G Network Market Trends

The small cell 5G network market in the U.S. is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 71.4% from 2024 to 2030. The U.S. market. is experiencing robust growth, driven by large investments in 5G network infrastructure from telecom companies such as AT&T, Inc. and Verizon.

The Canada small cell 5G network market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 74.7% from 2024 to 2030. Canada's market is witnessing steady growth, propelled by rising demand for high-speed mobile data connectivity.

Asia Pacific Small Cell 5G Network Market Trends

Asia Pacific dominated the small cell 5G network market with a revenue share of 34.1% in 2023. This is attributed to the increasing deployment of 5G new radio infrastructure by major communication service providers including China Mobile Limited; NTT Docomo Inc. KT Corporation; and Rakuten Mobile, Inc. In addition, governments across major countries such as China, South Korea and Japan are highly focused on launching multiple sub-6GHz and mmWave frequencies to cater to the growing need for high-speed data connectivity among a large subscriber base. Consequently, the market in the region is anticipated to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecast period.

The small cell 5G network market in China is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 76.4% from 2024 to 2030. Small-cell 5G network market growth in China is driven by large investments in 5G network infrastructure and favorable government initiatives.

The India small cell 5G network market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 83.2% from 2024 to 2030. India is witnessing increasing demand for high-speed data connectivity. The deployment of 5G networks in smart cities and emphasis on deploying sub-6 GHz frequencies to cater to diverse user needs are contributing to market’s growth in India.

The small cell 5G network market in Japan is anticipated to grow at a significant CAGR of 68.4% from 2024 to 2030. Key trends, including the deployment of 5G networks in urban areas for high-speed data capacity and the adoption of 5G networks in autonomous vehicles and remote surgeries, are significantly contributing to the market growth in Japan.

Europe Small Cell 5G Network Market Trends

The small cell 5g network market in Europe is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 71.1% from 2024 to 2030. The European market's growth is attributed to the favorable regulatory policies in countries such as the UK, Germany, and France and large investments in 5G network infrastructure.

The UK small cell 5G network market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 75.5% from 2024 to 2030. The country's market growth is attributed to the increasing investment in healthcare applications, the adoption of smart cities, and the growth in virtualized network architecture to optimize operational efficiency.

The small cell 5G network market in Germany is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 72.3% from 2024 to 2030. Germany's market is growing steadily, driven by investments in Industry 4.0 and smart city initiatives. The deployment of 5G networks in industrial IoT applications is further driving the market's growth.

Middle East & Africa Small Cell 5G Network Market Trends

The small cell 5G network market in Middle East & Africa is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 59.0% from 2024 to 2030. The MEA market is on the rise, driven by investments in digitalization and infrastructure development.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) small cell 5G network market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR from 2024 to 2030. 5G network deployment in emerging smart cities like NEOM, emphasis on industrial IoT applications for optimizing oil and gas operations, and focus on mmWave frequencies to support ultra-reliable connectivity for futuristic technologies like autonomous vehicles are key factors contributing to the market growth in Saudi Arabia.

Key Small Cell 5G Network Company Insights

Some of the key companies operating in the global market include Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Nokia Corporation, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, and ZTE Corporation.

• Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson provides various Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution and services, including 5G and IoT-powered networks, managed services, digital services, and others to service providers across the globe

• ZTE Corporation provides integrated global telecommunications solutions to consumers, enterprise networks, carriers, businesses, and government customers. The company has a global presence in more than 160 countries, including Canada, the U.S., Austria, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the UK, China, Oman, UAE, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile, among others

Fujitsu Limited, CommScope Holding Company, Inc., Comba Telecom, Systems Holdings Limited, Mavenir, and Airspan Networks Holdings Inc., are some of the emerging companies in the global market.

• Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. is a technology leader in the 5G and 4G radio access network and broadband access solutions market. The company provides a broad range of software-defined radios, network management software, and broadband access products, which can potentially facilitate cost-effective deployment and efficient management of fixed, mobile, and hybrid wireless networks

• Mavenir is a cloud-native network software provider. It focuses on redefining network economics and accelerating software network transformation for Communications Service Providers (CSPs)

Recent Developments

• In February 2023, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. unveiled a series of One 5G solutions, which can drive all bands to 5G. The company’s One 5G solutions can potentially unleash the power of all bands at a single site based on indoor digitalization, FDD, and TDD. The solutions were aimed at helping operators in building the most economical 5G networks

• In August 2022, Comba Network, a subsidiary of Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Ltd., was selected by China Mobile Limited, a telecom company, to participate in a significant 5G extended picocell deployment, which involves 20,000 small cell base stations

• In March 2022, Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG, a broadband, landline, and mobile telecommunications provider, and NEC Corporation, a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, announced their successful partnership in unveiling the first virtual and Open RAN architecture-based small cells in Germany. The service was primarily launched in Munich’s city center to improve the customer experience by offering increased capacity to the existing mobile network in this dense, urban area

Small Cell 5G Network Market Report Scope

Global Small Cell 5G Network Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue and volume growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2019 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global small cell 5G network market report based on component, network model, network architecture, deployment mode, frequency type, end-use, and region:

• Component Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Hardware

  • Picocell

  • Femtocell

  • Microcell

  • Services

  • Consulting

  • Deployment & Integration

  • Training And Support & Maintenance

• Network Model Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Standalone

  • Non-standalone

• Network Architecture Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Distributed

  • Virtualized

• Deployment Mode Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Indoor

  • Outdoor

• Frequency Type Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Sub-6 GHz

  • mmWave

  • Sub-6GHz + mmWave

• End-use Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Residential

  • Commercial

  • Corporates/ Enterprises

  • Hospitals

  • Hotels & Restaurants

  • Malls/Shops

  • Stadiums

  • Others

  • Industrial

  • Smart Manufacturing

  • Energy & Utility

  • Oil & Gas and Mining

  • Smart City

  • Transportation & Logistics

  • Government & Defense

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • North America

  • U.S.

  • Canada

  • Mexico

  • Europe

  • Germany

  • UK

  • Italy

  • Russia

  • Asia-Pacific

  • China

  • India

  • Japan

  • South Korea

  • South America

  • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa

  • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

  • UAE

  • South Africa