North American mobile operators have invested roughly $265 billion in total capital expense and $70 billion for spectrum since the 700 MHz auction in 2008. While waiting for “5G” technology rollouts in 2020, those same operators will have data revenues of more than $835 billion, according to the ABI Research market data “Mobile Carrier Revenue and Profit” and “Mobile Operator Capex.”
ABI Research also forecasts North America LTE kit investment will amount to nearly $30 billion through 2020, including macrocell; small cell and related backhaul; and in-building systems.
