Huawei and CommScope are the Market Leaders in ABI Research’s Cellular Base Station Antenna Competitive Ranking

Despite a challenging year for the passive base station antenna market in 2020, Huawei retained its title as leader and increased its market share to 35.1%. The updated Cellular Base Station Antenna Market competitive ranking report from ABI Research, a global tech market advisory firm, provides insights into the competitive dynamics between various vendors. The top four firms remain unchanged for 2020 with Huawei in the lead, followed by CommScope, Kathrein Mobile Communication, and Rosenberger. However, Amphenol Antenna Solutions moved up one rank in 2020 to the 5th position. The top 5 vendors made up more than 70% of the total passive base station antenna market in terms of revenue.

The passive base station antenna market faced disruption in 2020 with the increased emphasis on active antennas for the 5G mobile network as well as the impact from COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic created new uncertainty globally and affected day-to-day operations for businesses. Delay in investments for rollouts and upgrades of the mobile networks further impacted the market negatively, both in developed and developing regions. The vendors are ranked and evaluated based on multiple criteria such as their market share, passive antenna portfolio, multiband antenna capability, and notable innovations which address challenges in antenna deployment among others. The top 12 companies evaluated and ranked are: 

• Market Leaders: Huawei & CommScope
• Mainstream: Kathrein Mobile Communication, Rosenberger, & Amphenol Antenna Solutions
• Followers: Radio Frequency Systems, Comba Telecom, ACE Technologies, MOBI Antenna, Dengyo, Tongyu Communication, and Hengxin Technology

“The market leaders both scored well but they are experiencing increased pressure from the other antenna vendors where competition is building in specific regions and in specific product segments. Huawei continues to showcase a diverse product portfolio as well as increase a range of RF spectrum and antenna design innovations. We will have to see how Ericsson’s acquisition of Kathrein benefits the antenna company. Rosenberger has seen their market-share increase significantly as the company expanded their antenna line-up and widened their regional market engagement,” says Dean Tan, Research Analyst at ABI Research.  

A total of nine criteria were utilized for the assessment of various vendors. These include overall antenna market share, antenna sales geographical penetration, financial and organizational health, antenna customer contract wins, antenna portfolio, multi-band capabilities, ultra-wideband capabilities, intellectual property and R&D, antenna configurability and maintenance.

“The multiband/multiport capability of a vendor is one important factor as we have observed the shift toward a higher port count antenna solution in the market,” says Jake Saunders, Vice-President at ABI Research, Asia Pacific. “What we observe is the need for the vendor to not only be innovative but also have the partnerships to deliver robust solutions, especially at this stage of 5G rollout. With 5G New Radio (NR), we can expect new requirements which will challenge the antenna vendors to innovate and adapt,” concludes Saunders.   

These findings are from ABI Research’s Cellular Base Station Antenna Market competitive ranking report. This report is part of the company’s 5G & Mobile Network Infrastructure research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. Competitive Ranking reports offer comprehensive analysis of implementation strategies and innovation, coupled with market share analysis, to offer unparalleled insight into a company’s performance and standing in comparison to its competitors.