Main applications of PCB in communication field:

PCB is mainly used for wireless network, transmission network, data communication and fixed broadband equipment in the communication field. The main equipment in the wireless network field includes communication base stations, and the application products include backplane, high-speed multilayer board, high-frequency microwave board, multi-functional technology substrate, etc; The main equipment in the field of transmission network is OTN transmission equipment; The main devices in the field of data communication are routers, switches, service/storage devices; The main devices in the fixed broadband field include OLT, ONU and other fiber to the home devices. The main PCB products in the three major application fields include backplanes and high-speed multilayer boards. The main PCB products in the communication equipment field are multilayer boards. More than four layers of PCBs account for more than 70% of the total consumption of communication equipment, of which 8-16 layers account for 35.2%.

Based on the characteristics of 5G technology, future mobile communications will no longer rely on the deployment architecture of large base stations, and a large number of small base stations will become a new trend to cover peripheral communications that cannot be covered by large base stations. In the 5G millimeter wave band and sub-6 band, a large number of 5G macro base stations, millimeter wave micro base stations and sub-6 micro base stations will be built. The total number of base stations in the world will increase to 14.42 million by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.33%.

It is estimated that 1.5 million new 5G base stations will be added in a single year. According to the deployment of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the active deployment of operators, it is estimated that the construction of 5G network base stations in China is expected to officially start in 2019. According to the data released by domestic operators, the total number of 4G base stations in 2017 was 3.28 million. At the peak of construction in 2014/2015, the number of 4G base stations added each year was close to 1 million. It is estimated that the number of 4G base stations added in the next two years will gradually decrease, with the total number approaching 4 million. According to data and industry research, it is estimated that the total number of 5G base stations is 1.5 times that of 4G, which is equivalent to an increase of 1.5 million base stations in a single year in China during the peak of 5G construction.

The upgrade of the antenna has further promoted the value of the PCB of a single base station. On the one hand, the 5G base station antenna uses the Massive MIMO technology, which has brought about a substantial increase in the number of components, and the corresponding PCB use area has also increased. It is estimated that the total amount of high-frequency PCB materials of a single base station may be twice that of the 4G period. On the other hand, 5G requires higher integration of antenna system.

In order to meet the isolation requirements, multilayer printed circuit boards are required (the number of layers is upgraded from double-sided boards to multilayer boards). Generally, the cost of adding two layers of PCBs will increase by 50% to 30%. For example, the price of 8-layer boards is twice as high as that of 4-layer boards. At the same time, the performance requirements of 5G equipment PCBs are extremely high, such as more layers, more areas (large area, small thickness diameter ratio), drilling accuracy (small aperture, board alignment), and routing (line width, line spacing). PCB with higher requirements requires higher processing in terms of technological coordination, which is expected to increase the process added value of 5G PCB products. In addition, high-speed high-frequency materials are required for the base materials, The price will be 3-5 times that of the raw materials. Based on this calculation, the unit price of PCB is at least 1.5 times that of the 4G period. At present, the average purchase price of RF PCB by 5G equipment manufacturers is about 2000 yuan/square meter. It is estimated that the PCB price in the 5G period will be about 3000 yuan/square meter.