3G delays bring to 12% in cellular infrastructure market

The global cellular infrastructure market declined by 12% last year, mainly due to delays in deploying third-generation networks. But there was an upturn in the fourth quarter, according to Gartner. Mobile network operators spent even less in 2003 than in 2002, and investments in radio access, switching, applications and core infrastructure for mobile networks totalled $40 billion, down from $45 billion in 2002.