A recent study by ABI Research estimates that the cumulative deployments of picocell devices worldwide will reach 366,000 by the year 2013. This will represent a 38 percent compound annual growth rate over the years from 2008.
Picocell (News - Alert) technology provides cellular coverage and capacity in areas with spotty or nonexistent cellular signals. However the market for picocells has been limited, mainly due to the cost of installing, managing and planning picocell solutions. The report provides recommendations to the market participants, identifying future opportunities and market strategies for picocells.
The report from ABI Research (News - Alert) is titled “Picocells”. It provides an in-depth look at picocells, exploring their relationship with femtocells. The role of picocells in the context of other in-building wireless solutions such as DAS and repeater systems is also explained in the report. ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging trends in global connectivity.
The report identifies the criteria that operators, enterprises or building owners use when making a decision to install picocells versus femtocells, repeaters, or DAS. The areas where picocells will see maximum deployment such as a complementary IBW hotspot, a gap fill solution, a macro, or a standalone coverage solution are also discussed. The report also lists the regions in the world that will have the most picocell deployments in the future.
The key to market acceptance for picocells lies in their similarity to femtocells in terms of their setup and cost. According to senior analyst Aditya Kaul, the main difference between the two is that femtocells are largely consumer-focused, whereas next-generation picocells continue to target the enterprise market with rugged, carrier-grade feature sets. Even though the next-generation picocells will require a truck roll for deployment, they will offer a lower cost device than the traditional picocell.
The most suitable market for picocells is comprised of establishments with employees in the range of 20 and 100. Large buildings and corporate campuses tend to deploy distributed antenna systems (DAS). However, operators haven’t really succeeded in delivering a cost-efficient system for small-medium offices. The study has revealed that within the 20-100 employee market, the 20-49 employee group will see competition between picocells and domestic femtocells deployed in grids. Picocells are ideal for the 50 to 100 employee segment. For example, satellite offices of larger corporations that have a corporate account covering multiple branches could use next-generation picocells in a cost-effective way.
Calvin Azuri is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Calvin’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Tim Gray
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