Worldwide sales ofGSM/GPRSand3G femtocellaccess points will grow
tenfold from 2007 to 2008, with sales reaching more than £315m in
2010, says analyst Infonetics Research.
Femtocells are small, low-power, indoor cellular base stations
that can achieve higher-quality local-area coverage, and allow
mobile operators to extend their cellular footprint in the home and
office environment.
Infonetics said the greatest opportunity for operators will be
presented by 3G femtocells that are deployed in households, where
they can be used to provide consistent high-speed coverage, as well
as improved home-zone-type tariffs and services for customers.
3G femtocells offer operators a practical and potentially much
less expensive alternative to enhancing coverage by further
investing in denser 3G macro cell networks, said Infonetics.
In addition, as femtocells are backhauled over an internet
connection, such as a consumer's DSL line, the mobile operator
could make operational expenditure savings on macrocellular
backhaul architectures.
Richard Webb, an Infonetics analyst, said, "Femtocells could
allow mobile operators to make a significant shift away from just
relying on traditional cellular network architecture.
"The prospect of capex and opex savings, combined with new
personal broadband service opportunities, is generating intense
interest from operators in femtocells and more vendors are
developing products."
He said, "If the hype translates into deployment, femtocells
could radically transform the economics of mobile data and
content-based services."