iGR, a market strategy consultancy firm in the mobile and wireless communications industry, has published a new market study report that predicts the total addressable market for enterprise picocells to reach almost nine million by the end of 2017.


The upcoming new concept of heterogeneous network, or het-net, is expected to comprise of multiple layers of large cells and small cells, Wi-Fi and DAS. While “large cells” are being widely used in the mobile and wireless communications industry today, “small cells” are relatively new in the market and are used in diverse ways. According to iGR, small cells are defined as a low power product that effectively operates on licensed functions and frequencies as a self-contained, small cellular base station.

Picocell (News - Alert) is, in essence, a larger form of femtocell that is being widely implemented in businesses or in a small venue. It is physically larger than a typical femtocell and features a greater power output, which provides it a longer range and the core ability to effectively support traffic capacity, larger area and increasing concurrent users (anywhere between eight and 32). While femtocells are typically implemented indoors, picocell deployment can be indoor or outdoor. Furthermore, multiple picocells can be grouped together to cater to more people. The latest examples where picocell implementation might help are hotels, convention centers, stadiums, office buildings, corporate campus, etc.

The new study by iGR, named “U.S Picocell Total Addressable Market, 2012-2017: Sizing the opportunity in the enterprise,” presents a comprehensive overview of the U.S. total addressable market for enterprise picocells. At the same time, the report also predicts the theoretical maximum size of the total addressable market by 2017.

Talking about this new market research, Iain Gillot, founder and president of iGR, stated that the core foundation behind picocells is that they are more likely to be implemented in providing better data and voice coverage indoors in licensed cellular brands. He further said that according to the new report, the most lucrative opportunity for enterprise picocells lies on large corporate campuses and in smaller companies.

The key areas that have been highlighted in the new iGR research study are:

  • How does iGR define small cells in general?
  • How does iGR define picocells?
  • What are the benefits of picocells?
  • How do picocells work?
  • What is the use case for picocells?
  • What are the limitations / technical challenges surrounding picocell deployments?
  • Where are picocells likely to be deployed?
  • How many buildings are in the U.S.?
  • What are the key elements and assumptions in the iGR total addressable market forecast for U.S. picocells?
  • What is the total addressable market forecast for picocell installations in the U.S.? 

It is expected that the report will prove to be beneficial for mobile network software and service providers; mobile operators; picocell, femtocell, and small cell infrastructure vendors; financial analysts and investors, and mobile network infrastructure OEMs.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Brooke Neuman