AS THE WORLDWIDE WIRELESS market in the developed world approaches saturation – with carriers offering little compelling differentiation except for price points and minor signal quality advances, growth will have to come from somewhere other than just adding more customers.
Mobile triple-play services (voice, video, and Internet) revenue opportunities are the most likely solution to this situation, but only when cell operators first solve signal coverage and capacity issues in the indoor home environment, says high-tech market research firm In-Stat.
This is where Femtocells (which sounds like some sort of James Bond-style robot but are really small cellular base stations designed for use in residential and small business environments in order to provide enhanced coverage at the edge of the wireless network) "are a practical, near-term cure for these problems, with no practical limitations," says Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst, in a press release. "Femtocell technology is unlikely to be superseded by another technology in the foreseeable future."
Other tidbits from the report say:
* Worldwide femtocell subscriptions (installed devices) are expected to grow to 40.6 million by 2011.
* Femtocell end-users will reach 101.5 million over the next five years.
* Femtocell device/service pricing will be a major short-term challenge, likely requiring operator subsidization.
