Mobile Experts, a market research firm focused on market analysis for the mobile infrastructure and mobile handset markets, has released three new market forecasts: Small Cells, Semiconductors for Small Cells, and Backhaul for Small Cells. Mobile Experts provides forecast breakdowns by frequency band, power level, semiconductor integration type and many other factors. The company also utilizes an Advisory Panel of 30 mobile operators, multiple infrastructure OEMs, and more than 40 semiconductor companies to validate its Small Cell forecasts.


With the publication of these three forecasts, Mobile Experts has come up with some very interesting small cell market perspectives. In particular, Market Experts notes that consumer femtocell growth - as measured by the rate of femtocell shipments each quarter - has now slowed significantly. Market Experts principal analyst Joe Madden now anticipates steady and almost linear growth in the femtocell sector based on consumer demand and worldwide broadband penetration.

Madden  notes that, "We believe that enterprise small cell solutions will solve problems for businesses and help to unify Wi-Fi and licensed wireless, creating demand for enterprise small cells. That said, from 2009 to the end of 2012, the small-cell market has been dominated by these consumer femtocells, and the growth rate overall has been anemic, with weak support from mobile operators and little public awareness." That is about to change.

Beginning in 2013 however, the company believes that it will be carrier-grade small cell deployments that will deliver a huge increase in overall small cell deployments. And from 2014 to 2017, Mobile Experts predicts that there will be an intense rise in small cell shipments, with carrier deployment of small cells to address capacity growth requirements leading the way. The chart below, provided by Market Experts, makes this new growth extremely clear.

Carrier-grade small cells are now expected to address the most significant problem facing the industry. Carriers now directly feel the pain of limited capacity, and this issue in particular will drive much of the small cell growth projected by Market Experts. Market Experts anticipates that small cells for indoor and outdoor deployment will double each year, along with the capacity that the carriers will require.

As the chart shows, the inflection point for this change will take place very likely before 2013 is out. By 2015, Mobile Experts anticipates that carrier-grade small cells will fully become the top dog in annual shipments.




Edited by Allison Boccamazzo