Faced with Various Challenges, the European Market for Femtocells is Not Quite There...

Faced with Various Challenges, the European Market for Femtocells is Not Quite There Yet!

LONDON--(Business Wire)--Femtocells are low-power radio systems that plug into a
residential broadband connection and enable mobile subscribers to use
their existing mobile cellular handsets to access both data and voice
services. This is one of the key differentiators for femtocells,
because with existing fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services, users
require a dual-mode cellular/wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) handset to
avail services at lower costs inside buildings.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan
(http://www.wireless.frost.com), European Femtocells Market - A
Strategic Analysis, estimates that there will be 21.392 million
femtocell subscribers with 10.696 million femtocells deployed across
Western Europe in 2010, and this will reach 39.403 million femtocell
subscribers with 15.761 million femtocells deployments by 2011.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides
manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an
overview of the investment analysis and growth opportunities in the
European Femtocells Market, then send an e-mail to Joanna Lewandowska,
Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com, with your
full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and
e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview
will be sent to you by e-mail.

"Unlike 2G, 3G is deployed further down the frequency band and
hence the wavelength of the signal reduces, providing smaller
coverage; carriers, therefore, need to deploy more base stations to
meet coverage and capacity requirements, resulting in higher capital
and operational expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX)," notes Frost & Sullivan
Programme Manager Luke Thomas. "Accordingly, carriers are evaluating
femtocells as a solution to reduce the cost factor and enhance indoor
quality of service (QoS) for 3G technology."

The appeal of femtocells is being reinforced by the fact that more
than 90 per cent of mobile data services are accessed inside
buildings, and the cost of 3G handsets are on the decline. Stronger 3G
signals inside buildings imply faster data rates. Furthermore, as
femtocells are connected to the user's broadband network, the user,
instead of the carrier, would have to pay for backhaul traffic to the
latter's core network. This results in enhanced cost benefits for
mobile carriers.

However, the underlying factor for the success of femtocells lies
in its commercial cost. Hence, there is immense pressure on vendors to
further reduce the bill of materials (BOM) for femtocells, as carriers
are not in a position to subsidise if the overall costs do not
effectively reduce to 100 Euro.

"Carriers have realised that it would be long before the cost of
the femtocell will reach 100 Euro," says Thomas. "They are now
considering renting out femtocells to users for a long contract
period, rather than allowing them to buy it outright."

European Femtocells Market - A Strategic Analysis is part of the
Mobile & Wireless Growth Partnership Service Programme, which also
includes research in the following markets: Mobile WiMAX, xMax and 3G
LTE - Analysis of Mobile Broadband Technologies, Mobile Virtual
Network Operators: Emerging Participants in the European Mobile
Market, and European Wireless E-Mail Markets, European Mobile Outlook.
All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market
opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following
extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the
press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, the Global Growth Consulting Company, partners
with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Growth
Partnership Services, Growth Consulting and Career Best Practices
empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates,
evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan
employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000
companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more
than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost &
Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

European Femtocells Market - A Strategic Analysis

M17D-65

Frost & Sullivan
Joanna Lewandowska, +48 22 390 41 46
Corporate Communications - Europe
E: joanna.lewandowska@frost.com
or
Mireya Castilla, 210-247-3830
Corporate Communications - North America
F: 210-348-1003
E: mireya.castilla@frost.com
or
Sarah Lourdes, +603 6204 5878
Corporate Communications - Southeast Asia
F: +603 6201 7402
E: sarah.lourdes@frost.com
or
Caroline Lewis, +91-44-4001 3438
Corporate Communications - South Asia
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E: caroline.lew@frost.com
or
Shwetha Thomas, +91 22 4001 3429
Corporate Communications - Middle East
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E: sthomas@frost.com
or
Amelia Wong, +86 21 5407 5783 Ext 8669
Corporate Communications - China
M: +86 13621724823
E: amelia.wong@frost.com
or
Patrick Cairns, +27 21 680 3274
Corporate Communications - Africa
F: +27 21 680 3296
E: patrick.cairns@frost.com
or
Jose Maria Jantus, +54-11-4777-9951
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Corporate Communications - Australia & New Zealand
F: +61 2 9252 8066
E: sharmin.jassal@frost.com
http://www.frost.com

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