Femtocells

Consumer, Enterprise, and Metro Markets

Femtocells are entering the next phase of their technology cycle. Market activity until now has been focused on completing work on 3GPP femtocell standardization and responding to operator RFPs. A few operators have been bold enough to launch femtocell services during this initial phase, although most of them have been controlled limited rollouts focused on delivering basic voice coverage at home. The next phase for femtocells is crucial. This should see them evolve from a niche technology with controlled rollouts to a mass-market commercial technology.

This study examines the challenges that need to be met, ranging from defining the business case to achieving system integration when deploying millions of femtocells in the field. The report also provides comprehensive coverage of value-chain activity and the format and architecture debates around femtocells.

What Questions Does This Report Answer?

  • What are the crucial issues for enabling a smooth transition to mass-market femtocell commercialization?
  • What are the truths behind widely discussed femtocell issues such as network interference, location and timing, accommodation of Pre Rel 8 handsets, and health concerns?
  • Has the 3GPP Rel 8 Home Node B specification covered the critical areas for femtocells or has something been left out for the future Rel 9 specification?
  • Which operators are likely to launch femtocell services in 2009-10?
  • Which vendors are best positioned to meet the next phase of femtocell market expansion?
  • Can we expect to see consolidation in the femtocell vendor market during 2009-10?
  • How do the DSP and SoC-led architectures compare against each other as femtocell volumes go up?
  • With the entry of large silicon vendors such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, what’s in store for the femtocell silicon market?
  • What are the shipment breakdowns between residential and enterprise femtocells, standalone versus integrated femtocells, and Iu versus SiP femtocells between 2008 and 2014?
  • How will North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific compare in terms of femtocell deployments?

Who Needs This Report?

  • Femtocell equipment vendors
  • Fixed carriers
  • Mobile carriers
  • Cellular infrastructure vendors
  • WiFi/DSL access point/gateway vendors
  • Semiconductor vendors
  • FMC software suppliers
  • Network integrators
  • Venture capitalists/investment funds

Table of Contents


Section 1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1. Femtocells – An Introduction
1.2. Femtocells — Market Momentum
1.3. Femtocell Near-Term Challenges
1.4. Femtocell Market Forecasts

Section 2.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1. Recommendations to the Entire Ecosystem
2.2. Recommendations for Equipment Vendors
2.3. Recommendations for Mobile Operators
2.4. Recommendations for Semiconductor Vendors

Section 3.
FEMTOCELL STANDARDIZATION
3.1. Introduction to 3GPP and Standard Procedures
3.2. Home NodeB Specifications in 3GPP Release 8
3.2.1. Home NodeB Architecture and Application Protocol - Iuh
3.2.2. OA&M - TR.069
3.2.3. Interference
3.2.4. Mobility
3.2.5. Access Control
3.2.6. Other Highlights
3.3. Future Specifications in 3GPP Release 9
3.3.1. Mobility
3.3.2. Architecture
3.3.3. QoS, Differential Services, and Charging
3.3.4. Enterprise HNBs
3.4. CDMA Specifications

Section 4.
THE FEMTOCELL FORMAT AND ARCHITECTURE DEBATE
4.1. Format Based on Application Area
4.1.1. Home-Grade Femtocell
4.1.2. Enterprise Femto — Super Femtocells
4.1.3. Metro Femto — Outdoor Femtocells
4.2. Format based on Feature Set
4.2.1. Standalone Femtocells
4.2.2. DSL Gateway/Wi-Fi Integrated Femtocell
4.2.3. TV Set-top Box
4.3. Format based on Chipset
4.3.1. System-on-Chip Femtocell Approach
4.3.2. Digital Signal Processor Femtocell Approach
4.4. Femtocell Network Architectures
4.4.1. RAN
4.4.2. Iu over IP
4.4.3. SIP

Section 5.
NEAR-TERM CHALLENGES
5.1. The Femtocell Business Case
5.1.1. Operator Push or Consumer Pull?
5.1.2. The FMC Factor
5.1.2.1. The Data Component of Femto FMC and Tiered Broadband
5.1.2.2. The Challenge of Family Bundles and FMC
5.1.3. Distribution Model
5.1.4. Femtozone Services
5.1.5. The Elusive $50 Femtocell
5.2. Back-end Infrastructure
5.2.1. The In-house ISP Factor
5.2.2. Customer Relations Management and Billing
5.3. Competitive Threats
5.3.1. Wi-Fi Routers
5.3.1.1. Universal Mobile Access Voice
5.3.1.1.1. 3G to Wi-Fi Data Roaming
5.4. Regulatory Issues
5.4.1. Installation and Operation
5.4.2. Nomadicity
5.5. Reality versus Myths
5.5.1. Network Interference
5.5.2. Health Concerns
5.5.3. Accommodating Pre-Release 8 Handsets
5.5.4. Location and Timing

Section 6.
FEMTOCELL SERVICE ROLLOUTS, TRIALS AND OTHER VALUE-CHAIN ACTIVITY
6.1. Femtocell Service Rollouts and Trials
6.1.1. Sprint
6.1.2. SOFTBANK Mobile Corporation
6.1.3. StarHub
6.1.4. Orange
6.1.5. Chunghwa Telecom
6.1.6. Vodafone
6.1.7. T-Mobile
6.1.8. AT&T
6.1.9. Verizon Wireless
6.1.10. Telefonica Europe
6.1.11. Comcast
6.1.12. TDC Denmark
6.1.13. TIM Italy
6.1.14. SFR France
6.2. Femtocell Equipment Vendor Momentum
6.2.1. Access Points
6.2.1.1. Ubiquisys Ltd
6.2.1.2. Airvana Inc
6.2.1.3. ip.access
6.2.1.4. RadioFrame Networks
6.2.1.5. Alcatel-Lucent
6.2.1.6. Samsung
6.2.1.7. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
6.2.1.8. AirWalk Communications Inc
6.2.1.9. ZTE
6.2.1.10. 2Wire Inc
6.2.1.11. Motorola Inc
6.2.1.12. NETGEAR
6.2.1.13. Cisco Systems Inc
6.2.1.14. Pirelli Broadband
6.2.1.15. Thomson
6.2.1.16. Hay Systems
6.3. Femtocell Semiconductor Vendor Momentum
6.3.1. picoChip
6.3.2. Freescale Semiconductor Inc
6.3.3. Texas Instruments
6.3.4. Qualcomm Inc
6.3.5. Percello
6.3.6. Lime Microsystems
6.3.7. BitWave Semiconductor
6.3.8. Maxim Integrated Products
6.3.9. Skyworks Solutions Inc
6.3.10. Other Vendors

Section 7.
MARKET FORECASTS
7.1. Forecast Model and Methodology
7.2. Variation to Previous Forecast
7.2.1. Observations and Reasons for Variation
7.3. Assumptions and Support Data
7.3.1. Fixed Broadband Subscribers
7.3.2. Cellular Subscribers
7.3.3. Wi-Fi Access Point Shipments
7.4. Femtocell Installations
7.5. Femtocell Users
7.6. Femtocell Access Point Shipments by Air Interface
7.6.1. North American Femtocell Shipments by Air Interface Technology
7.6.2. Asia-Pacific Femtocell Shipments by Air Interface Technology
7.6.3. Western European Femtocell Shipments by Air Interface Technology
7.7. Femtocell Access Point Shipments by Feature Support
7.8. Femtocell Access Point Shipments by Architecture
7.9. Femtocell Average Selling Price
7.10. Femtocell Access Point Equipment Revenue
7.11. Femtocell Chipset Revenue
7.12. Femtocell Overall Economic Evaluation

Section 8.
COMPANY DIRECTORY

Section 9.
ACRONYMS
SCOPE OF STUDY
SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY
NOTES



Tables
  • Femto Cell Forecasts, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • Femto Cell Interference Scenarios,
  • Variance to Last Forecast,
  • Fixed Broadband Subscriber Forecast by Region, World Markets, 2007 to 2013
  • Cellular Subscribers by Region, Technology and Applicable Air Interface Technology, World Markets, 2007 to 2013
  • Cellular Subscribers by Region, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • SOHO/Consumer Access Point Shipment Forecast by Form Factor, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • SOHO/Consumer Access Point Shipment Forecast by Region, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • Enterprise Access Point Shipment Forecast by Form Factor, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • Enterprise Access Point Shipment Forecast by Region, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • Dual Mode Cellular/VoWi-Fi Enabled Handset Shipments, World Markets, 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Installations, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Users, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, North American Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, Asia: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, Western Europe: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, RoW: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Feature Support, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Shipments by Architecture and User Group, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Shipments by Architecture and User Group, North American Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Shipments by Architecture and User Group, Asia: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Shipments by Architecture and User Group, Western Europe: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Shipments by Architecture and User Group, RoW: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE ASP Forecast, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Market Revenue, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments and Revenue, North American Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments and Revenue, Asia: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments and Revenue, Western Europe: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments and Revenue, RoW: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Chipset Revenue, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell MOU by Region (Annual), World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell MOU by Region (Annual), World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Network Capacity Saving by Region, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Cell Subscription Revenues, World Markets: 2008 to 2014

Charts
  • Femtocell Installations, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Users, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE Shipments by Feature Support, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Shipments by Architecture and User Group, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell CPE ASP Forecast, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Market Revenue by Feature, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Chipset Revenue, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell MOU by Region (Annual), World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Network Capacity Saving by Region, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Cell Subscription Revenues, World Markets: 2008 to 2014
  • Femtocell Economic Valuation, World Markets: 2008 to 2014

Figures
  • Iu Interface Architecture
  • TR.069 Architecture
  • Femtocell Interference Scenarios
  • Spectrum arrangement for Macro and Home NodeBs
  • RAN Approach
  • Iu over IP
  • All IP
  • Fisher-Pry Curve