Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest Small Cell Equipment market size and forecast report, which tracks 3G microcells, picocells, and public access femtocells and 4G LTE mini eNodeBs and public access femtocells.

ANALYST NOTES

“2013 is shaping up as a kick-off year for small cells, driven by 4G small cells deployed for capacity upgrades,” expects Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research. “AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless in the U.S., Vodafone in Europe, LG U+ in South Korea, and NTT DOCOMO in Japan have all announced major small cell plans, driven by the need to enhance the capacity of saturated macrocellular networks as they seek to deliver denser, higher-capacity coverage to tech-savvy populations in urban areas.”

Co-author of the report, Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi at Infonetics, adds: “As operators formulate their plans for small cell rollouts, one of the key decisions will be how tightly to integrate Wi-Fi. Last year, we saw clear indications that picocells would have integrated Wi-Fi, and this has indeed materialized. Both technologies have similar range and power requirements, which may provide an advantage for picocells over microcells, as the dense cell option could have its own in-built offload option.”

SMALL CELL MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• Infonetics forecasts the global small cell market to grow from a very small base now to $2.7 billion by 2017
• Given the current pace of LTE rollouts worldwide, 4G small cell shipments are anticipated to overtake 3G shipments by the end of 2013
• South Korea’s SK Telecom has deployed close to 40,000 small cells and is the leading adopter of 4G public access femtocells to date
• Backhaul is no longer an inhibitor to small cell growth, but could remain an issue depending on factors such as location or mobile operator
• Geographically, Infonetics expects Asia Pacific to lead the small cell market in 2013 with 50% of all units shipped, followed by EMEA with 34%, and North America with 14%

REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics’ biannual small cell report provides worldwide and regional market size, forecasts through 2017, analysis, and trends for 3G microcells, picocells, and public access femtocells and 4G (LTE) mini eNodeB and public access femtocells. The report also includes a small cell strategies tracker. Vendors tracked: Airspan, Airvana, Alcatel-Lucent, Alvarion, Anvaya, Argela, BelAir, BTI, Contela, Datang, Ericsson, Hitachi, Huawei, ip.access, Juni, Minieum, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks, SAI, Samsung, SK Telesys, SpiderCloud, Ubee, Ubiquisys, ZTE, and others. To buy the report, contact Infonetics: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Infonetics’ latest Small Cell, Carrier WiFi and Mobile research brief: http://bit.ly/13cLKZ9
• LTE smartphones up 151% in 4th quarter
• Is there a mobile spectrum shortage? New data from Infonetics may come as a surprise
• LTE market nearly doubling in 2013
• Godfrey Chua joins Infonetics to launch M2M and Connected World research
• Femtocells up 66% in 4Q12; big 2013 expected as 4G femtos ramp
• Small cell operators face myriad operational and financial challenges
• Outdoor small cell backhaul a 5-year $5 billion opportunity
• Small cell is the buzz but DAS is the biz, say operators in latest Infonetics survey

UPCOMING MARKET SHARE/FORECAST REPORTS & SERVICE PROVIDER SURVEYS

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

• Carrier WiFi Equipment
• Carrier WiFi Offload and Hotspot Strategies and Vendor Leadership Survey
• Embedded Mobile and M2M Modules
• Femtocell Equipment
• Service Provider Capex, Revenue and Capex by Equipment Type
• Service Provider Outsourcing to Vendors
• Small Cell Mobile Backhaul Equipment

INFONETICS WEBINARS

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

• Scaling Small Cell Backhaul (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, larry@infonetics.com, +1 408-583-3335

N. America (East), Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, scott@infonetics.com, +1 408-583-3395

Europe, Middle East, Africa: George Stojsavljevic, george@infonetics.com, +44 755-488-1623

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.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130322005627/en/