NEW YORK, N.Y. — According to a new study by Thintri, Inc., systems based on millimeter wave technology are creating markets that will reach billion-dollar levels within a few years. The report, “Millimeter Waves: Emerging Markets,” analyzes markets in telecommunications, imaging, consumer & automotive, defense & security and other sectors and finds that several are undergoing rapid growth, while others are in the early stages of market entry. A few are about to witness the entry of game-changing technologies, products and services that, combined with an opened regulatory environment, will transform markets that up to now have been modest.
Millimeter wave (MMW) radiation, that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum generally defined as 20 GHz to 300 GHz, has gained commercial traction in the past decade or so.
Today, MMW imaging is established in airport and other checkpoint security applications, and markets are now rapidly growing in inventory control and loss prevention, where systems can quickly scan employees leaving a manufacturing facility to prevent theft. Imaging systems already installed at malls, hidden behind walls, can automatically track suspicious persons who may have concealed weapons or bombs.
Technological evolution is bringing about imaging systems that are more capable, less costly, smaller, lighter and more portable, and take less training to use. This evolution is about to dramatically reduce the cost of such imaging systems, allowing their adoption in a much broader range of venues that will include courthouses, concerts, stadiums, schools, dance clubs and many, many others.
MMW systems are radically transforming telecommunications as well. E-band links are quickly capturing markets in backhaul, where they can be deployed quickly and at a small fraction of the cost of deploying optical fiber, but offering near-fiber data rates.
Millimeter wave links combined with small cell networks may be the only viable solution to the bandwidth challenges facing today’s telecom industry as it transitions to next-generation 5G networks. Some 4G networks are already approaching the theoretical limit on how much data can be squeezed into a given band. Experts predict that by the year 2020, wireless data transfer volumes will be 1,000 times greater than they are today, with demand for data transfer rates at 10 to 100 times faster than is practical today.
One of the most exciting frontiers in telecommunications is fixed wireless Internet access, where MMW systems are about to facilitate a game-changing market shift. As wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) move to offer MMW-based wireless Internet access across broad geographic regions, the artificial barriers that once served to geographically separate the various access suppliers, like cable and phone companies, will break down. The result will be a Wild West scenario where a large number of players, large and small, compete to offer consumers and businesses access at up to gigabit data rates at low cost. At that time the distinction between fixed and mobile Internet access will largely disappear, as consumers demand broadband access anytime, anywhere, on any device.
The unique properties of millimeter waves lend them to a host of other markets, including satellite Internet access, automotive radar, consumer multimedia, defense and security, manufacturing process and quality control, medical diagnosis, munitions guidance, security perimeter radar, and monitoring of chemical processing and pipelines.
The Thintri market study, “Millimeter Waves: Emerging Markets,” makes use of extensive, in-depth interviews with industry executives, market development managers and government and academic researchers. The report provides a survey of the current state of the art in millimeter wave technology, an assessment of potential applications in terms of their commercial viability, discussion of market development and forecasts for individual markets from 2016 to 2023.
More information: http://www.thintri.com/Millimeter-waves-report.htm.
Founded in 1996, Thintri, Inc., is a full-service consulting firm, based in New York and directed by J. Scott Moore, Ph.D., Thintri’s services include business intelligence, market research, technology transfer and technology assessment, and in-depth, off-the-shelf market studies on promising emerging technologies. Topics of focus have included communications, aerospace, medical and industrial imaging, materials and coatings, semiconductor devices, photonics, plastic electronics, manufacturing, industrial logistics, security and defense, thermal management, energy, and a host of others.
For more information, visit http://www.thintri.com or call 914-242-4615.
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