“I see the RDOF as being impactful beginning in 2022,’’ explained Jeff Heynen, Vice-President of Broadband Access and Home Networking for the Dell’Oro Group, a market research and consultancy.

A recent Dell’Oro Group CBRS RAN five-year forecast report predicted the overall CBRS market – LTE plus 5G NR (New Radio) – would grow at a rapid pace between 2020 and 2025, with cumulative RAN investments projected to approach or surpass $2bn.

Sales of optical transport gear are expected to grow 30% annually and reach $85 billion in five years, according to a January report by Dell’Oro Group. Carriers like AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Lumen Technologies Inc. have announced fiber-optic network expansion plans, and a lot of that will support the build-out of 5G.

According to the analyst team at Dell’Oro, cumulative investments in CBRS equipment are expected to total $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion between 2019 and 2024. “The announcement between Nokia and Key Bridge provides a compelling and timely solution approach for companies who are looking to quickly capitalize on the opportunities CBRS offers,” said Stefan Pongratz, VP at Dell”Oro Group. “This partnership solidifies not only Nokia’s commitment to CBRS but to the broader private wireless opportunity.”

Dell’Oro found that the overall telecom market – covering broadband access, microwave and optical transport, mobile core and RAN, SP router and carrier Ethernet switch (CES) – grew by 7%, year-on-year, in 2020. It’s the fastest pace of growth since 2011. The top seven suppliers, according to Dell’Oro’s calculations, account for between 80% and 85% of the total equipment market.