The Femtocell Market in China

Outlook for China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom

Research Report

The Chinese femtocell market has attracted a lot of attention from femtocell vendors, mostly due to its vast potential for growth, partly kick-started by China Unicom’s announcment in late 2009 of a pre-commercial deployment. Even a niche market for femtocells in China is expected to bring multi-million femtocell shipments. However, unlike in the US or Europe where voice coverage or data capacity crunch are the main drivers for femtocell deployment, China has not yet seen either factor play a role. The 3G networks are young and are still getting rolled out, while consumers are just beginning to experience mobile data and value-added services.

ABI Research forecasts that WCDMA will play a crucial role in the development of the Chinese femtocell market. As China Unicom reviews its femtocell strategy, ABI Research believes that 2012 will be the inflection point for femtocells, as the second wave of rollouts begins. ABI Research forecasts that by 2015, China will see seven million shipments, the result of a 130% compound annual growth rate for the period 2010-2015.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Operators
    • 1.1. China Unicom
      • 1.1.1. Network Status
      • 1.1.2. Femtocell Plans
    • 1.2. China Mobile
      • 1.2.1. Network Status
      • 1.2.2. Femtocell Plans
    • 1.3. China Telecom
      • 1.3.1. Network Status
      • 1.3.2. Femtocell Plans
  • 2. The Market Outlook

Tables

  1. Top 3 Chinese Operators - 3G Network Indicators
  2. Femtocell CPE Shipments by Air Interface, China: 2009 to 2015 (thousands)