Summary

The Antenna Market witnessed a shipment of 18.1 billion units in 2020 and is expected to reach 30.84 units in 2026 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 9.72 % over the forecast period 2021 to 2026. Consumer electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, wearables, tablets, and other devices are packed with several of antennas from GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, 2G, 3G, 4G, and other frequency bands; lower the frequency larger the size. A mobile phone antenna is the only custom made device on the phone and requires significant investment into R&D by vendors. The 4G mobile antenna production process has evolved from the initial shrapnel antenna to the FPC antenna and LDS antenna. Currently, most of the 4G connectivity antennas are developed with LDS and FPC technology; Shrapnel antennas, namely metal stamped and formed antennas, provide OEMs with a low-cost and highly repeatable manufacturing solutions that include multiple standard or custom antenna designs.

Key Highlights
Stamping technology is a proven solution with several major advantages such as the lowest cost, integrated contacts connected to the ground plane; production dies that support mass production, and can add additional assembly stations to cope with the increase in production.
FPC has high wiring density, lightweight, thin thickness, Features of good bendability. The FPC antenna is connected through the feeder, which is free to install and has high gain. Owing to various benefits offered by the technology major, OEMs such as Apple incorporates the antennas in combination with LCP; currently, the demand for LCP and LDS antennas are expected to command a prominent share of the market.
LDS antenna technology is mature and stable, product performance is superior, and any three-dimensional laser incident surface can achieve high-precision layout. This technology is suitable for three-dimensional surfaces and has a wider design space, but the cost is higher than that of FPC. It requires electroless plating and specific materials.
However, with the growing consumer electronics, OEM's propensity towards the adoption of LCP antennas, vendors in the market are expected to focus on developing and offering LCP and MPI solutions over the forecasted period.
For example, Apple increased its reliance on LCP and FPC antenna technology in its next-generation iPhones in 2020. It is expected that about 75% of the iPhone 12 models are expected to incorporate LCP FPC hardware; along with this, the company is anticipated to shift to 5G mmWave technology due to the growing adoption of 5G technology amongst the consumers. iPhone models such as XS Max, XS, and HR are equipped with six LCP antennae, and the new models from the company are expected to be equipped with four MPI antennae and two LCP antennae.
With the LDS antenna market reaching its maturity stage and growing LCP demand, LDS and LCP technology combined are expected to hold a major share of the market with the fastest growth in demand for MPI technology over the coming years due to 5G demand.
With the advent of 5G technology across the globe, antenna vendors in the market are increasing focus on developing LCP and MPI solutions, and this type is expected to command a prominent share of the investments over the forecasted period. For instance, in June 2019, Xinwei Communication announced that the company acquired the capability of flexible transmission line products such as LCP and MPI. The LCP transmission line products have been applied to the connection between Qualcomm 5G baseband chips and 5G millimeter wave antenna modules.
Telcos have effectively diversified their supply chains, however, some of the current disruption such as owing to COVID-19 could result in future dips in equipment revenues of the market. Major mobile handset suppliers have significant exposure to slowdowns in Asia. While a number of telcos are trying to stockpile inventory to mitigate impact. In addition, the manufacture and delivery of antennas will likely be delayed, slowing 5G and fiber network builds, consequently would have an impact on the antenna market.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have a significant impact on the telecommunication sector. Owing to the increase in the number of countries imposing restrictions on movement, people are spending more time at home for work and leisure, using vast amounts of data. Telecom companies are focused on increasing network resiliency and planned investments in 5G.
Besides, excessive demand on mobile and communications networks, including temporary suspension of data caps, could affect service quality, creating a ripple effect as companies across various sectors implement remote-work plans, thus impacting the market.


Key Market Trends

Phone Antenna is Expected to Have a Significant Market Share


The telecom service market growth, smartphone proliferation, 3G technology, and 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology are principal determinants that drive the phone antenna market. The mobile phone communication antenna rightly traces the path of the economic state of a region. The first demonstration of this correlation covers the recent economic recession, wherein the mobile communication antenna industry saw a downward trend.
The phone antenna products’ life cycle is anticipated to be inferior due to the constant development of innovative technologies. The segment is also likely to experience growth due to the high demand for installation and after-sales services. The growing adoption of LTE technology due to its fast data transfer capability against HSDPA+ presents roads for expansion.
Rising demand across the telecommunication equipment market may also feed the need. The growing application of smart antennas in smartphones and the ever-increasing demand for smart antennas in wireless communication is encouraging the phone antennas adoption. For instance, according to American Tower, in 2019, the company, which operates wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure, owned 1,079 DAS sites in India.
Moreover, the rising need for faster data transmission in modern communication systems with optimized evolution data, high speed downloading, and web browsing has forced organizations to increase the efficiency of wireless transmission, which is favoring the antenna demand for the phone segment. As the telecom industry waits for 5G, antenna vendors are busy perfecting the adoption of smart antenna constructs across power values, operating distances, and frequency ranges.


North America is Expected to Have a Major Market Share


Developed communication infrastructure and increasing investments in the region for the development of new infrastructure from military and defense, satellite, and cellular communication are expected to drive the growth of the antenna market.
Shortly, with smartphones gaining penetration in new markets and the advent of new communication technologies, such as 4G (and further advanced technologies like 5G) expected to enter the market, the demand for smart antennas seems lucrative for market prospects.
AT&T’s 5G trials are helping the company guide its 5G 3GPP standards contributions. AT&T has been testing 5G fixed wireless equipment with vendors and it showed the possibilities of millimeter wave (mmWave) radio access technology for the networks of the future.
With international companies exploring the potential in emerging nations, this sector is witnessing increasing investments. Overall, the market is expected to grow at a healthy rate over the forecast period.
High defense budgets of the United States and the increasing demand for economic and security issues have increased the need for RADAR systems. Additionally, technological advancements and the growing demand for ranging and detection of objects are fuelling the demand for RADAR systems.


Competitive Landscape

The antenna market is highly competitive and consists of a significant amount of major players. In terms of market share, a few of the major players currently dominate the market. The manufacturers are aiming to gain a competitive advantage by adopting product differentiation.


Oct 2019 - Baylin Technologies announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Galtronics USA Inc. (“Galtronics”), has expanded its popular two-foot, 10 port quasi-omni small cell / C-RAN canister antenna product line to include Manual Electrical Tilt (MET) and Remote Electrical Tilt (RET) capabilities.


Additional Benefits:

The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
3 months of analyst support

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