14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, Infonetics Research has conducted a series of studies that have shown that sales of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) network elements as well as femtocells are expected to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 86 percent from 2009 to 2014. The research company has also reported that revenues generated by 2G and 3G femtocell networks worldwide rose with approximately 154 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year. The same research study also predicts that, in 2011, over 2.5 million femtocells would be sold.
According to Richard Webb, co-author of the report and directing analyst for WiMAX, microwave and mobile devices at Infonetics, even if 2009 was thought by many to be “the year of the femtocell,” it actually wasn't. Even if 2009 meant establishing the Iu-h interface or the initiation of an interoperability test (IOT) by the Femto Forum, Webb predicts that femtocell adoption will remain modest in 2010. An important growth of the femtocell segment is expected to take place in 2011-2012, bringing a notable contribution to the entire FMC market.
Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile and FMC infrastructure at Infonetics Research and co-author of the report, adds, "Universal mobile access and voice call continuity are essentially dead. UMA is morphing into an app and the GSMA endorsement of the OneVoice initiative, quickly renamed VoLTE (voice over Long Term Evolution), sealed VCC's fate and declared IMS the long-term universal voice service delivery platform."
A number of companies including CSL, Network Norway, AT&T, Optimus, China Unicom, SFR, Vodafone, Sprint, StarHub or Verizon have already launched a series of femtocell commercial services, while the rest of the 3G operators are expected to delay femtocell launches until 2011. According to Infonetics Research, the FMC security gateway segment will begin to grow in 2010, due to the increasing need for mobile data off-load, which will double revenues obtained by manufacturers between 2010 and 2011.
In 2009, FMC phones with integrated IMS technology and dual-mode WiFi generated a 51-percent increase in revenues compared with 2008. The number of seamless FMC subscribers is expected to reach 64 million by 2014, with a decrease in UMA-based subscribers and an increase in the IMS-based FMC ones.