As per the research firm, three key reasons will contribute to the flat growth in wireless capex by telecom operators in 2015. Firstly, strong U.S. dollar will impact the purchasing power of telecom operators globally. Secondly, the regional unrest in Middle East and North African regions will result into slow purchase decisions. Thirdly, - Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality and Title II classifications are likely to have a negative impact on the investments planned by telecom operators in the US.

Further, North American wireless telecom operators such as AT&T and Verizon too are expecting the percentage of capex revenue to decline in 2015. Meanwhile, telecom operators from Europe, Middle East and Africa will remain committed to their network upgrades and will drive future growth as they target the global enterprise market.

Some of the focus areas for chief technology officers at wireless telecom operators will be heterogeneous and layered, virtualised, software-defined, cloud-based, and self-organising networks. ABI Research states that telecom operators such as Vodafone, Singtel, MegaFon and Softbank, are testing 5G technology and the industry will witness significant investments in 5G going ahead.

The research firm concludes that going forward telecom operators will be spending less on macro base stations and more on small cells and small cell clusters. Capex in the percentage of revenue will remain stable or even decline in 2015.