Infonetics Research: Adoption of Small Cells, Public Space Femtocells Reflects a Mobile World in Transition

A new study from market researcher Infonetics Research, Femtocell Coverage Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey, details mobile operator strategies for deploying femtocells and other small cells, including types, technologies, timing, installation locations, indoor and outdoor backhaul technologies, drivers, technical challenges, adoption barriers, and mobile traffic offload technologies and protocols.

ANALYST NOTE

“For our femtocell coverage strategies survey, we interviewed mobile operators from around the world that have deployed small cells (microcells, picocells, and/or public space femtocells) or plan to in 2012. Five (28%) are already running commercial public space femtocells networks, and almost half will do so sometime this year. Clearly, femtocells are growing beyond their original residential target market, moving into public space coverage, and becoming a full member of the ‘small cells’ set. Our survey reflects the fact that we are at the beginning of the mobile world’s transition from macro-centric to the next generation environment of small cells augmenting the macro RAN as mobile operators attempt to deliver ubiquitous coverage and high capacity in areas of dense user population and high broadband usage,” notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile offload and mobile broadband devices at Infonetics Research.

FEMTOCELL COVERAGE STRATEGIES SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

• 83% of mobile operators interviewed by Infonetics have already deployed small cells (predominantly microcells and picocells), and the remaining will deploy them by the end of 2012, a qualification for participating in the survey
• In-building coverage and data optimization are the top-rated drivers for operators deploying femtocells/small cells, followed by the non-expandability of the macro network due to the increasing difficulty of adding new cell sites
• Although 61% of the operators see potential interferences with the macrocell network as the top technical challenge when deploying small cells, only 50% rate it a strong barrier to adopting small cells
• The percentage of mobile operators deploying public space femtocells (also called “metro femtocells”) is growing from 28% in late 2011 to 44% in 2012 to improve mobile coverage and capacity in large areas of high footfall, such as retail malls, airports, and public buildings
• The rise of carrier-WiFi (SIM-based WiFi access points that enable seamless handover between WiFi and cellular networks) could inhibit the opportunity for public space femtocells for offloading data from the macro network

SURVEY SYNOPSIS

For its Femtocell Coverage Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey, Infonetics analysts interviewed 18 incumbent, mobile, and competitive operators that have deployed small cells or plan to in 2012. The respondents are from EMEA, Asia Pacific, and North America and together represent 30% of global telecom carrier revenue, 29% of global telecom carrier capex, and 20% of the world’s mobile subscribers. The survey focuses on the deployment of small cells, microcells, picocells, and public femtocells. For a summary of Infonetics’ coverage of consumer femtocells, please see its Residential Femtocell Services: Global Service Provider Survey highlights.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Latest Small Cells and WiFi Offload newsletter: http://bit.ly/xh5qIf
• Operators turn to femtocells to improve enterprise coverage and capacity
• Femtocell market set to double in 2012, Airvana expands lead
• Small cell survey shows operators plan to run 12% of network capacity on small cells by 2012
• New study details operator plans for small cell backhaul
• Femtocell operator survey provides glimpse into the future of femtocell services
• Airvana jumps to top of femtocell leaderboard, market poised for explosive growth in 2012

UPCOMING RESEARCH

Download report prospectuses, tables of contents, etc. at http://www.infonetics.com/login (see SMALL CELLS AND WIFI OFFLOAD for 2011 and 2012 services).

• Download Infonetics’ 2012 Research Publication Calendar: http://www.infonetics.com/login
• Femtocell Equipment Vendor Market Share and Forecasts
• Residential Femtocell Service Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• Small Cell Coverage Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• Small Cell Equipment Forecast
• WiFi Offload Equipment Forecast
• WiFi Offload Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey

SALES

• Larry Howard, VP, Western NA, Asia, CALA: larry@infonetics.com, +1-408-583-3335
• Scott Coyne, Eastern NA, Texas, Midwest: scott@infonetics.com, +1-408-583-3395
• George Stojsavljevic, EMEA: george@infonetics.com, +44-755-488-1623
• Japan, Taiwan, Korea: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

Infonetics Research 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 more effectively.

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