[January 17, 2013]

Infonetics Research: Small Cell Operators Face Myriad Operational and Financial Challenges

Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its Small Cell and LTE Backhaul Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey, which provides insights into operators' current and future plans for outdoor small cells and backhaul.

ANALYST NOTE

"The challenge is on for small cell operators. They've been scrambling to test and trial a large number of technologies, products, and topologies for outdoor small cells, and they're under growing pressure to make the rubber meet the road-not only from their technology and operations people, but even their business planners," notes Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst for carrier networks at Infonetics Research.

"But it won't be easy," continues Howard. "These operators face some daunting challenges: outdoor small cell gear isn't small enough or cheap enough yet, and there are problems backhauling in dense urban areas, not to mention municipal regulations regarding the look, size, and color of the equipment and who can mount equipment on streetlights, utility poles and building sides. Even if they managed to solve all these issues, they're still going to have to pass the fiscal test. Outdoor small cells won't fly without a viable business model."

SMALL CELL AND LTE (News - Alert) BACKHAUL SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

• 86% of operators surveyed plan to backhaul small cell traffic to nearby macrocell sites via a variety of locations, including buildings, streetlights, and traffic and utility poles
• Fiber is the preferred backhaul technology among respondent operators when available and cost effective, but the various forms of microwave-non-line-of-sight (NLOS), standard microwave, and millimeter wave-will be deployed most often
• When it comes to cost of ownership, a majority of respondents require the 5-year TCO of a small cell deployment to be within 10% of a typical macrocell deployment
• By 2016, those surveyed expect in-building and outdoor small cells (microcells, picocells, and public access femtocells) to handle around 1/4 of mobile traffic

Infonetics analyst Richard Webb is hosting a Scaling Small Cell Backhaul webinar on Feb. 19. To learn more or attend, visit http://bit.ly/VV9eJd.

SURVEY SYNOPSIS

For its 36-page small cell and LTE backhaul survey, Infonetics interviewed purchase-decision makers at 22 independent wireless, incumbent, competitive, and cable operators from EMEA, North America, and Asia Pacific about their current and future plans for small cell and macrocell backhaul. The study provides insights into mobile traffic handling and specific backhaul issues related to outdoor small cells, in-building small cells, and macrocells. To buy the report, contact Infonetics: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Infonetics' January Mobile Backhaul / Small Cell research brief: http://bit.ly/W0pprV
• Telecom sector growth still outpacing GDP growth
• Outdoor small cell backhaul a 5-year $5 billion opportunity
• Operators spending $5.6B over 5 years on Ethernet access devices; ADVA takes top spot
• Small cell is the buzz but DAS is the biz, say operators in latest Infonetics survey

UPCOMING RESEARCH

Download Infonetics' market research brochure, publication calendar, events brochure, report highlights, tables of contents and more at http://www.infonetics.com/login.

• Femtocell Equipment Market Share and Forecast
• LTE Strategies and Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey
• Macrocell Mobile Backhaul Equipment and Services Market Share and Forecast
• Microwave Equipment Market Share and Forecast
• Millimeter Wave Equipment Market Size and Forecast
• Mobile Spectrum Market Size and Forecast
• Service Provider Routers and Switches Market Share and Forecast
• Small Cell Equipment Market Size and Forecast
• Small Cell Mobile Backhaul Equipment Market Size and Forecast

UPCOMING INFONETICS WEBCASTS

Visit https://www.infonetics.com/infonetics-events/ to learn more or register for Infonetics events.

• WEBINAR: Integrating Carrier WiFi with the Mobile Network, with Ruckus (Feb. 5)
• WEBINAR: Session Border Controllers in VoLTE, with Metaswitch (Feb. 12)
• WEBINAR: Scaling Small Cell Backhaul, with Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), Ceragon, Vitesse (Feb. 19)
• WEBINAR: 100G Optics: Why Operators Are Upgrading Now; Cisco (News - Alert), Cyan, Oclaro (Mar. 5)
• WEBINAR: Core Routers Move to the Metro, with Alcatel-Lucent, TBA
• WEBINAR: Diameter Signaling Control: Managing Mobile Broadband Growth; Ericsson (News - Alert), TBA
• WEBINAR: Service Provider SDNs: Here to Stay (Sponsorships available)
• WEBINAR: Routing vs. Ethernet for LTE Backhaul (Sponsorships available)
• WEBINAR: Small Cells Reality Check (Sponsorships available)

TO BUY REPORTS, CONTACT:

N. America (West), Asia, Latin America: Larry Howard, larry@infonetics.com, +1 408-583-3335

N. America (East), Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, scott@infonetics.com, +1 408-583-3395

Europe, Middle East, Africa: George Stojsavljevic, george@infonetics.com, +44 755-488-1623

Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

ABOUT INFONETICS

Infonetics Research (News - Alert) (www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize, and compete effectively. View Infonetics' About Us slides at http://bit.ly/QUrbrV.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130117005402/en/

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