In its recently released Transformative Horizon report, ABI Research identifies and examines the trends which will disrupt the in-building wireless market. Wireless technology innovation across licensed and unlicensed spectrum will soon unify in-building DAS (Distributed Antenna System) and small-cell systems. This new trend can lower the in-building system cost by up to 80% when compared to traditional DAS, and will open-up new prospects for large scale deployment. Not only this, but these developments could unlock opportunities for new use cases such as private LTE, quad-play multiple system operators, and neutral hosts. Deployment of the new unified in-building systems will boost the shared and unlicensed spectrum equipment from zero share today to 21% in 2022.

Among its findings, ABI Research predicts that the convergence of advanced technologies including 4G, 5G, Licensed Assisted Access LTE (LAA), Citizens Broadband Radio System (CBRS), LTE in Unlicensed spectrum (also known as MulteFire), and IoT will merge DAS and Small Cell architectures requiring advances in cloud and virtual radio access networks, multi-access edge computing and Fronthaul.

“These innovations will unify and converge in-building systems to a multi-technology connectivity RAN operating over licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum”, says Nick Marshall, Research Director at ABI Research.  Deployment costs enabled by these new technologies will significantly reduce and consequently increase the size of the available market. “As a result, in-building wireless systems and ownership stand at the threshold of significant fundamental changes as new technologies usher in new use cases, new entrants, and lower costs,” concludes Marshall.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Indoor Wireless Transformative Horizon report. This report is part of the company’s Mobile Network Infrastructure research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights.