Expert has 'high hopes' for future picocell deployment
26th June 2009 18:46:22
Picocell deployment is set to pick up over the next few years and achieve a compound annual growth rate of 38 per cent, it has been predicted.
ABI Research expects around 366,000 picocell devices to be deployed worldwide by 2013 as the market acceptance of these business devices to improve indoor 3G coverage grows.
Aditya Kaul, senior analyst at the research firm, explained that the "increasing similarity" of picocells to their consumer counterpart femtocells is set to drive adoption.
He said: "Unlike femtocells which are largely consumer-focused, next-generation picocells will continue to be targeted at the enterprise market, offering rugged, carrier-grade feature sets.
"There is also an understanding that many of these new picocells will still require a truck roll for deployment, although offering a lower cost device than the traditional picocell."
However, he conceded that some picocell developers have yet to hit the "sweet spot" of the 50-100 employee segment.
Mr Kaul claimed earlier this month that femtocells are likely to remain popular among businesses despite the economic downturn.
Picocell Information
Picocell Applications: How network planners are discovering the power of picocells for delivering cost-effective coverage and capacity to hard-to-reach places
The business case for picocells
