A number of factors, such as the increasing penetration of smartphones, surging adoption of internet of things (IoT), rising sales of mobile devices, and growing telecom industry, are expected to drive the growth of the 5G RF transceiver market at a CAGR of 30.4% in the foreseeable period (2020–2030). According to PS Intelligence, the market generated $112.0 million revenue in 2019. Moreover, the market is witnessing a key trend of surging adoption of wideband transceivers, due to technological developments and rise in focus on reliable, seamless, and secure communication.
One of the prime factors aiding the market growth is the increasing demand for 5G RF transceivers from the growing telecom sector. The surging launches of 5G services in the U.S., the U.K., China, and South Korea are driving the installation of such devices in base stations and telecom exchanges. For instance, since the launch of such networks in 2019, over 86,000 base stations have been set up in 50 Chinese cities, thereby increasing the need for these transceivers. Similarly, Ericsson installed base stations in March 2020 in the U.S., to accelerate 5G deployment.
The vertical segment of the 5G RF transceiver market is categorized into telecommunications, consumer electronics, cable/broadcasting, military defense, aerospace, healthcare, and others. Among these, the consumer electronics category is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. This can be ascribed to the surging incorporation of these transceivers in smartphones due to the increasing launches of 5G services by telecom companies. Further, according to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), over 50% subscribers of this technology demand higher data speed.
Moreover, the 5G RF transceiver market is classified into mobile devices, base stations, embedded modules, radar systems, and others, based on application. Of these, the base stations category accounted for the largest share in the market in 2019, as advanced RF front end (RFFE) design is essential to support the 5G network. Additionally, the RFFE design of advanced smartphones is complex due to the advanced long-term evolution-unlicensed (LTE-U) capabilities, complex antenna architecture, expanded carrier aggregation, and higher-order modulation. Thus, in base stations, 5G RF transceivers are being installed to support higher-frequency bands and higher broadband speeds.
Globally, the 5G RF transceiver market in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is the largest. This is ascribed to the growing consumer electronics industry, increasing adoption of wireless communication devices such as smartphones, surging internet penetration, rapid digitization, emergence of advanced technologies such as IoT, and rising demand for video streaming. Apart from these, such devices are also being incorporated in building security, smart farming, home automation, commercial satellite imaging, and smart utility applications; and the presence of key market players in the region.
Thus, the surging launches of 5G services and the rising number of smartphone users across the globe are expected to propel the market growth during the forecast period.
