IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a global business information provider, today released excerpts from its 2016 Microwave Network Equipment Vendor Scorecard. The scorecard profiles and analyzes the top seven revenue producers for microwave equipment.

Listed in the scorecard, in alphabetical order, were Aviat Networks, Ceragon, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia and SIAE. The scorecard evaluates the microwave equipment vendors on criteria such as direct feedback from buyers, vendor market share, market share momentum, financials, brand recognition, reputation for innovation and other benchmarks. Vendors are classified as leader, established or challenger based on their overall score.

For 2016, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC and Nokia received the leader designation for microwave network equipment, while Aviat Networks, Ceragon and SIAE were identified as challengers.

Among the leaders, Ericsson ranked first in market presence and fourth in market momentum; Huawei placed first in momentum and third in presence; NEC ranked second in both presence and momentum; and Nokia was fourth in presence and fifth in momentum.

“The microwave equipment market is strongly driven by demand for mobile backhaul connectivity from mobile operators. The rapid rise in mobile data traffic drives backhaul and thus microwave equipment market growth,” said Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile backhaul and small cells at IHS Markit. “The leaders in our scorecard report have positioned microwave products to support their mobile radio access network (RAN) equipment business, but they’re very much microwave specialists too. They innovate technology-wise—often as part of an extensive mobile backhaul equipment portfolio—while maintaining large customer bases of tier-1 mobile operators.”

Strong competition for backhaul from fiber and developments such as 5G and network virtualization are changing the architecture of networks, affecting the long-term outlook for microwave equipment.

“As the mobile network continues to evolve, it’s more important than ever that microwave equipment vendors innovate, expand their product portfolios to a variety of backhaul scenarios including small cells, and maintain a healthy balance sheet to preserve market position,” Webb said.