Though provisioning 4G services and spectrum re-farming will come as a welcome boost to the wireless industry, 4G spectrum will not be allocated in the same generous manner in which 3G was, says research firm ABI Research.
The research firm said that operators across the world are starting to move out of 4G trials and switching to commercial services.
It said that while the 4G spectrum allocation will be selective, the re-farming of spectrum and its re-allocation from alternative applications such as broadcast TV and military communications will be necessary.
The firm also predicts 4G equipment spending on base stations to reach $3bn this year.
ABI VP for forecasting Jake Saunders said, "Provisioning 4G services and spectrum re-farming will provide a welcome boost to the wireless infrastructure market. ABI Research estimates that 4G equipment spending on base stations will reach almost $3 billion in 2011 and potentially $16.5 billion in 2016."
ABI Research said in 2011 approximately 32,000 base stations will be upgraded and retrofitted to support 4G services.
It added, approximately 19,000 base stations will be deployed onto new sites to help infill capacity and remove dead spots and poor coverage zones for 4G enterprise and residential users.
A considerable amount of that equipment will be in the 2.5 GHz and related bands, but operators will be keen to deploy into lower frequency bands, said ABI Research.
