Report: Worldwide Femtocell Equipment Unit Sales to Reach 15M by 2013
April 23, 2009
By Jayashree Adkoli, TMCnet Contributor
In a recent research report by In-Stat entitled “A Cell of Your Own: Worldwide Micro, Pico, and Femtocell Market Analysis” indicated that femtocells will soon dominate mobile markets for indoor cell coverage.
Serge Pequeux, president and CEO at AirWalk Communications (News - Alert), said in an interview, “Femtocells (News - Alert) are compact cellular access points that provide premier cellular service inside homes, small offices and other environments where cellular penetration is restricted. Femtocells are an affordable solution for both subscribers and operators because they connect to the operator’s core network via an existing broadband connection, such asDSL or cable modem.”
During 2006, femtocells were virtually nonexistent. Sprint (News - Alert) was the first company to market with a femtocell-based service in 2007, while others entered the market in 2008. Now, many operators know that microcells, picocells, and femtocells provide indoor cell phone coverage in a cost-effective manner. For this reason, it is anticipated that femtocells will make up 61 percent of small cellular base station revenue by 2013, says the report.
“The physical structure of buildings often limits radio penetration, reducing reliable service and coverage. Femtocells promise to overcome these hurdles by offering mobility within confined areas and seamless service between networks,” said Pequeux. “This can be achieved at a low cost to both the consumer and operator by implementing femtocells. Competitive wireline technologies such as twisted pair, cables and fiber even though offer high quality broadband services in the home and office, but they are tethered and restrict convenience.”
“Furthermore, wireless home devices such as femtocells offer an inexpensive broadband connection with mobility as an alternative to WiFi. The convenience of one number for multiple services on femtocells remains an appealing factor, whether it’s on a PBX (News - Alert) in the office or a cordless phone in the home,” Pequeux further added. “With a femtocell in the home, subscribers now have the option to consolidate their fixed and mobile service, billing and applications on one service and the convenience of one account.”
“As mobile operators migrate from larger base stations to smaller access points, the number of units deployed will explode dramatically,” says Allen Nogee, In-Stat (News - Alert) analyst. “In-Stat expects the smaller and cheaper cells to be more immune to the recession, compared with more expensive macro and micro base station shipments.”
The recent research, which included forecasts of femtocell, picocell and microcell semiconductor revenue as well as equipment unit sales and revenue through 2013, indicated that the global annual femtocell semiconductor revenue will approach $400 million and equipment unit sales will approach 15 million units by 2013.
Jayashree Adkoli is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Jayashree's articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Jessica Kostek