The diameter signalling controller market will triple to $1.3 billion (€1.7 billion) in 2018 as LTE paves the way to the proliferation of mobile voice services, new research has claimed.
The study by Infonetics revealed the growth of LTE-based voice technologies, such as VoLTE, had triggered a spike in the diameter market, which grew by 81 percent in 2014 alone. This follows a 54 percent growth in 2013.
The “exponential” growth is causing a flurry of competition amongst vendors, Infonetics said, with Huawei, F5 and Oracle battling for the top spot and Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent not far behind.
Diane Myers, Principal Analyst for VoIP, UC, and IMS at Infonetics, said: “Developed as the next-generation signalling protocol, Diameter has begun to permeate networks, driven by increasing LTE usage and the emergence of VoLTE.
“The Diameter vendor landscape is beginning to shake out, and it’s a tight race at the top between Huawei, F5 and Oracle. We see a strengthening of Ericsson and a push from Alcatel-Lucent, Sonus and now Mavenir with its acquisition of Ulticom. The consolidation continues, and we expect even more in 2015.”
The report by Infonetics tracks diameter signalling controllers that handle signalling traffic on networks, caused by mobile IP data and voice services.
It found that while centralised routing continued to be the main use of the technology, roaming via Diameter Edge Agent was “right behind.”
Infonetics also said it expected to see the first use of diameter signalling controllers as virtual network functions (VNFs) during 2015, with North American and Europe leading the way.
According to the study, North America accounted for over a third of market revenue last year, followed by EMEA and Asia-Pac.
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