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Europe : Within a few years, a fully broadband mobile internet will be taken for granted by users in many parts of the world, and operators are already gearing up to put the networks in place to support this.

Whether they are traditional mobile carriers or providers entering the wireless world from other sectors, most are focusing their efforts on two new technologies, Mobile WiMAX and LTE. Existing cellcos will look to implement these in parallel with extending systems using HSPA+ or EV-DO Rev A/B. Wireline operators will often be using mobile broadband to complement a fiber , DSL or cable model.

All this will lead to an explosion of investment in the key next generation wireless networks from this year until 2012, when mobile broadband will be mainstream in developed economies. The latest report from Rethink Technology Research provides forecasts of the dollars that will be invested in base stations and RAN infrastructure for WiMAX, LTE and HSPA+ during this period, based on surveys of 500 operators with firm intentions to purchase one or more new technologies before 2012.

Based on their input, key trends emerge. Mobile broadband systems based on the key technologies will generate RAN investment of $16.2 billion by 2012, almost one-third of the total spend on cellular base stations and infrastructure. Within this, LTE will overtake Mobile WiMAX around 2011.

The new wireless landscape will not just be formed by new technologies, however. Operators have learned the risks of deploying high cost networks without proven return on investment, from the 3G experience in regions such as western Europe. This time, they are demanding networks with lower cost of ownership and cost of delivery, and are looking to new base station formats to help achieve this, and support more flexible business models.

Important developments, which will have a major impact on operator spending patterns by 2012, include the emergence of picocells and femtocells, which will account for almost 25% of investment by the end of 2012. Other key trends will be the increasing uptake of flat network designs, remote radio heads, flexible or software defined base stations, and standardized board level architectures like ATCA.

Rethink Research's latest report, "Taking the internet to the handset: Base Station Technology Forecast 2008-2012", provides detailed forecasts of the impact of these new developments, and the dollar investments they represent, based on the most comprehensive survey of operator spending intentions available today.