4G femtocell market estimation by Infonetics: 165% CAGR from 2012 to 2017

Market research firm Infonetics finds in its latest study 4G femtocell revenue is growing at a 165% 5-year compound annual growth rate from 2012 to 2017. “Femtocell sales are up for the third straight quarter and on a year-over-year basis, though growth to this point is modest for a market that’s still in evolution,” reports Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi at Infonetics Research. “Price-per-unit is eroding and shipment volumes are rising, but both are intrinsically linked and neither has happened fast enough to drive a more rapid acceleration in adoption to date.” Webb adds: “That said, we believe femtocells have sufficient market drivers and support among operators to sustain continuous annual revenue and unit growth through at least 2017, starting with a very big 2013, driven by strong 3G femto sales and fast-ramping 4G femtos.” The other highlights of the report shared by Infonetics include: Globally, the femtocell equipment market, including 2G, 3G, and 4G femtocells, is up 66% in 4Q12 from 3Q12 For the full year 2012, the femtocell market totaled $425 million, up 21% from a year ago Public space femtocells accounted for slightly more revenue than consumer femtocells in 2012 While only 3% of units shipped in 2012 were integrated femtocells—meaning femtocell technology built into broadband CPE like DSL routers/gateways—Infonetics...