This report explores the emergence of the Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG) market. DCSG is a white-box cell site gateway or router based on an open and disaggregated architecture for existing 2G/3G/4G and 5G networks. This report analyzes DCSG architectures and implementations, including the emerging market ecosystem. It tracks white box hardware units and sales, and software sales, all broken down by regions: North America, Europe Middle East Africa, Asia Pacific, and Caribbean Latin America. The report provides the total number of cell sites worldwide and 5-year market forecasts. As this market is just emerging, it is too early to publish vendor market shares. All numbers (e.g., DCSG units and sales) collected and generated in this report relate to the novel disaggregated network nodes that perform the collection, the transport and the routing of mobile traffic coming in and out of the cell site in a radio access network (RAN).
- ABSTRACT
- KEY TAKEAWAYS
- THE RAN LULL PREVENTS THE NASCENT DCSG MARKET FROM TAKING OFF BUT IT EVENTUALLY WILL WITH THE UPCOMING 2ND 5G CYCLE
- 2024 POINTS TO $65M IN SALES LED BY EDGECORE AND UFISPACE FOR HARDWARE AND CIENA AND IP INFUSION FOR SOFTWARE
- Edgecore and UfiSpace lead the hardware category
- Among the NOS suppliers, Ciena and IP Infusion are thriving
- THE DCSG LULL SHRUNK THE ECOSYSTEM
- In February 2023, Mavenir joined the party with a virtual cell site router
- THIS WAS THE LULL BEFORE THE STORM, THE LONG-TERM FORECAST IS LOOKING UP
- DCSG unit volumes are ramping up to account for 19% of the worldwide existing footprint, excluding China
- The notable absence of China makes the worldwide market more balanced across regions
- 5G-driven CSG replacement will remain predominant throughout the forecast period
- Once 5G becomes ubiquitous, densification will trigger a phase of new DCSG addition
- But ultimately, 5G use cases will dictate the DCSG addition rate
- TELECOM NETWORK ELEMENT DISAGGREGATION STAYS À L’ORDRE DU JOUR WITH DCSG AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA
- AT&T, TELEFÓNICA AND VODAFONE HAVE BEEN AND REMAIN THE MAJOR DRIVING DISAGGREGATION FORCE
- But the market needs more CSPs to take the plunge and create a viable DCSG market
- In many places in the world, the DCSG can’t beat the CSG!
- SOME SAY CELL SITE GATEWAY, OTHER SAY ROUTER; OUR RESEARCH INDICATES CSG HAVE ROUTING CAPABILITIES AND FIT THE ROUTER BILL
- These CSGs reside between the RAN and the aggregation router
- Calling a DCSG a white box is an unambiguous strong statement
- At some point, aggregation and core routers will be next
- Tiers 1 CSPs support and through TIP, drive the disaggregation journey
- The elimination of vendor lock in and the abundance of NOS software are very compelling drivers
- In addition, for European CSPs, the need to find hardware alternatives to Chinese vendors was a secondary driver
- UNFAZED AND UNTHREATENED, THE TRADITIONAL TELECOM VENDOR ESTABLISHMENT IS CHUGGING ALONG WITH THEIR OWN STRATEGY
- With its Silicon One and IOS XR7 launched in December 2019, Cisco maintains its lead
- Juniper Networks added a cloud-native router to its broad router portfolio
- Forget the hardware, software is king
- However, all agree that with 5G reaching critical mass, the viability of the DCSG remains to be proven
- RAN architecture and topology and 5G use cases are the key factors for consideration
- Ericsson neither envisions routing functionality at the gNB nor at the cell site
- 3GPP Rel. 16 features IAB, a new backhaul concept that eliminates the need for CSGs/CSRs
Research Assistance
Learn how to effectively navigate the market research process to help guide your organization on the journey to success.
Download eBook