ABI Research’s latest study dubbed the “Outdoor Small Cell Forecast” is out and shows outdoor small cells will have a “healthy” 38 percent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) through 2021, as reported on by YAHOO Finance.

LTE small cells are the fastest growing small cell type in 2016, thanks to venue and dense urban deployments. The research study also predicts that LTE small cells will double by the end of the year and each year after Mobile Network Operators “put in place the framework for 5G deployments.” YAHOO reports that by 2021, the value of LTE small cells will amount to almost 70 percent of the entire equipment market.

MNOs are finding that deploying small cells is an effective way to boost network capacity in both urban and suburban markets with high traffic.

“MNOs on every continent, such as China Mobile, Verizon, and Vodafone, among others, are now investing in network densification,” Nick Marshall, Research Director at ABI Research, told YAHOO Finance. ”The results of this can be seen in the ramp of small cells this year.”

The research study also predicted that LTE’s growing networks and 4G deployments in the Asia-Pacific region will represent almost half of the worldwide small cell equipment market by 2021.