Infonetics: Femtocells Up 66% in Final Quarter of 2012; Big 2013 Expected as 4G Femtos Ramp

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its 4th quarter (4Q12) and year-end Femtocell Equipment report, which tracks femtocells by market segment, technology, and form factor.

“Price-per-unit is eroding and shipment volumes are rising, but both are intrinsically linked and neither has happened fast enough to drive a more rapid acceleration in adoption to date.”

ANALYST NOTE

“Femtocell sales are up for the third straight quarter and on a year-over-year basis, though growth to this point is modest for a market that’s still in evolution,” reports Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi at Infonetics Research. “Price-per-unit is eroding and shipment volumes are rising, but both are intrinsically linked and neither has happened fast enough to drive a more rapid acceleration in adoption to date.”

Webb adds: “That said, we believe femtocells have sufficient market drivers and support among operators to sustain continuous annual revenue and unit growth through at least 2017, starting with a very big 2013, driven by strong 3G femto sales and fast-ramping 4G femtos.”

FEMTOCELL EQUIPMENT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• Globally, the femtocell market, including 2G, 3G, and 4G femtocells, is up 66% in 4Q12 from 3Q12
• For the full year 2012, the femtocell market totaled $425 million, up 21% from a year ago
• Public space femtocells accounted for slightly more revenue than consumer femtocells in 2012
• 4G femtocell revenue is growing at a 165% 5-year compound annual growth rate (2012 to 2017)
• While only 3% of units shipped in 2012 were integrated femtocells—meaning femtocell technology built into broadband CPE like DSL routers/gateways—Infonetics anticipates they will be widely adopted over the long term, eventually making up about half of all units by 2017
• The top 3 femtocell market share leaders in 4Q12 and for the full year 2012 are Airvana, Samsung, and Cisco/ip.access

FEMTOCELL REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics' quarterly femtocell report provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, forecasts through 2017 and analysis for 2G femtocells (CDMA and GSM/GPRS), 3G femtocells (W-CDMA/HSPA, CDMA2000/EV-DO, and TD-SCDMA), and 4G femtocells (WiMAX and LTE). Femtocells are tracked by form factor (standalone and integrated) and market segment (consumer, enterprise, public access). Companies tracked: Airvana, Alcatel-Lucent, Argela, Cisco/ip.access, Contela, Huawei, ip.access, NEC/Ubiquisys, Samsung, Ubee Interactive, and others. To buy the report, contact Infonetics: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Latest Infonetics Small Cells - Microwave - Backhaul research brief: http://bit.ly/13J7dIt
• Microwave equipment market forecast to hit $5.2 billion in 2017; Alcatel-Lucent gains in Q4
• Small cell operators face myriad operational and financial challenges
• Outdoor small cell backhaul a 5-year $5 billion opportunity
• $44 billion to be spent over 5 years on mobile backhaul gear
• Femtocells offer opportunity to put the mobile network at the heart of the home network

UPCOMING MARKET SHARE/FORECAST REPORTS AND SURVEYS

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

• 4Q12 3G and 4G Mobile Broadband Devices and Subscribers
• Carrier WiFi Equipment
• Carrier WiFi Offload and Hotspot Strategies and Vendor Leadership Survey
• Macrocell Mobile Backhaul Equipment and Services
• Millimeter Wave Equipment
• Small Cell Equipment
• Small Cell Mobile Backhaul Equipment

INFONETICS WEBINARS

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

• Scaling Small Cell Backhaul (View on demand)
• Integrating Carrier WiFi with the Mobile Network (View on demand)
• Diameter Signaling Control: Managing Mobile Broadband Growth (Apr. 11: Register)
• Small Cells Reality Check (Sponsorships available)

TO BUY REPORTS, CONTACT:

N. America (West), Asia, Latin America: Larry Howard, [e-mail], [phone]

N. America (East), Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, [e-mail], [phone]

Europe, Middle East, Africa: George Stojsavljevic, [e-mail], [phone]

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

ABOUT INFONETICS

Infonetics Research (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.