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Top 3 Trends Impacting the Global Radio Frequency Front-end Module Market Through 2020: Technavio
[August 31, 2016]

Top 3 Trends Impacting the Global Radio Frequency Front-end Module Market Through 2020: Technavio


Technavio's latest report on the global radio frequency (RF) front-end module market provides an analysis on the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2016-2020. Technavio defines an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline.

Sunil Kumar Singh, a lead analyst from Technavio, specializing in research on human machine interface sector, says, "The global RF front-end module market is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 14% during the forecast period. The semiconductor market largely depends on the consumer electronics industry. Continuous growth in cellular networks in both developed and developing nations and growing proliferation of smartphones and tablets will drive the growth of the global RF front-end module market."

The top three emerging trends driving the RF front-end module according to Technavio hardware and semiconductor research analysts are:

  • Development of next generation wireless networks
  • Growing popularity of RF SOI
  • Increase in average time spent on travel

Development of next generation wireless networks

The growing popularity of mobile communication devices is resulting in an increase in network traffic. This is leading to the increased worldwide deployment of next-generation wireless networks, such as 3G, 4G, and 5G. These technologies offer wireless connections similar to home broadband connections. This, increases the number of users accessing the Internet from anywhere, at any time. This, in turn, drives the demand for mobile hotspots among individuals and business consumers because of their ability to connect multiple mobile computing devices using data services such as 3G and 4G with RF front-end modles as interfaces.



Vendors of telecommunication products are collaborating with service providers in order to develop portable devices, such as smartphones, mobile hotspot, and data cards, which support these advanced wireless technologies. In 2010, Verizon (News - Alert) introduced the long-term evolution (LTE) in Rural America (LRA) program. This program was aimed to provide the benefits of 4G LTE technology to individual users and business customers of the Americas. The program also provided technical support and resources to rural wireless companies for the development of 4G LTE (News - Alert) network infrastructure. During 2010-2015, this program was successful in offering a better network experience to 2.4 million people, covering more than 100,000 square miles. Out of the 21 network operators who participated in Verizon's LRA program, 19 have activated LTE networks.

Growing popularity of RF SOI


Silicon on insulator (SOI) technology uses layered silicon-insulator-silicon substrates instead of conventional silicon substrates in semiconductor manufacturing. This helps improve the performance of microelectronics by reducing parasitic device capacitance. SOI-based devices are different from conventional silicon-built devices and are called silicon on sapphire (SOS (News - Alert)) devices. The choice of insulator largely depends on the intended application where sapphire is used for high-performance RF and radiation-sensitive applications and silicon dioxide is used to create diminished short channel effects in microelectronics devices. The insulating layer and topmost silicon layer vary widely with applications.

The sapphire substrate enables isolation of RF SOI from electrical interference, high linearity, and electrostatic discharge (ESD) resilience. Due to these advantages, RF SOI is becoming quite significant in wireless front end applications is likely to adopted in devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Increase in average time spent on travel

The increase in average time spent on travel, which includes time spent traveling to and from work and leisure journeys, has boosted the build-out for faster Internet services. Cloud computing and mobile technology have transformed the travel experience. Mobile computing devices have become a standard accessory for travelers. Cloud computing provides travelers a platform to enhance their traveling experience by accessing the Internet at any time.

The average time spent on travel per day by people worldwide is increasing at a rapid pace. In 2015, the average time spent on travel was three hours compared to two and a half hours in 2014. Also, the number of people traveling for more than three hours has increased by more than 70% from 2014 to 2015.

"Faster Internet has become a necessity among frequent travelers as it enables them to connect their mobile devices to the Internet for playing web-based games, videos, and social networking," says Sunil.

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About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

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