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Femtocell Revenues Will Remain Small Through 2010
Although significant progress is being made in the femtocell market, including minimizing interference with the macrocellular network and creating standards for multivendor interoperability, sales of femtocells are likely to remain on the light side for at least the next 12 months, according to the latest report from Unstrung Insider.
"Since early 2008, the industry has made significant progress toward resolving technological issues, including minimizing femtocell interference with the macrocellular network and creating standards for multivendor interoperability," notes Tim Kridel, research analyst with Unstrung Insider and author of the report. "There is still much to do on those fronts, but even if everything were resolved tomorrow, the lack of revenue-generating business models would still stand in the way of aggressive, widespread deployments."
Femtocells face a few challenges in the market, which will hinder them from wide adaption/use through 2010, according to Kridel. "Wireless carrier, telco, and multiple system operator (MSO) orders for femtocells will remain few and small through 2010 because they are still hashing out their business models and watching to see how trials and the handful of commercial deployments are faring," he says. "Wireless carriers are still trying to figure out how to use femtocells to sell new applications and services."
Key findings of Femtocells: Market Outlook & Reality Check include:
- Industry-wide shipments could grow eightfold in 2010 to reach 4 million units
- For telcos and MSOs, femtocells are a way to combat and leverage wireline displacement and to go out of region
- Operators and vendors agree femtocells are still too expensive for wide adoption
- Integrating femtocells into other devices, such as set-top boxes, does not slash femtocell costs enough to spur large telco and MSO deployments anytime soon
- Femtocells let wireless carriers reduce capex and opex - but not immediately
Posted to the site on 1st October 2009