Historically, the macro cellular base station antenna has been dominated by passive antenna designs. However, as the amount of traffic that needs to be handled by the base station has ratcheted up, the need for active antenna designs has evolved.
Active antennas, in particular mMIMO active antennas, are crucial for realizing the potential of 5G with its beamforming capabilities and in achieving enhanced spectral efficiency. ABI Research expects active antenna shipment units to reach more than 7.3 million, and approximately US$56 billion by 2025.
The key to differentiating between an active antenna and a passive antenna is based on three main aspects:
• An active antenna houses additional active components (i.e., transceiver unit array, low-noise/power amplifier) in its radome, as compared to a passive antenna
• Active antennas perform more functions, such as Radio Frequency (RF) radiation, RF amplification, and RF conversion, as compared to the traditional passive antenna
• They can only be sold by OEMs, whereas passive antennas can be obtained from antenna vendors and OEMs
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