Wi-Fi Set To Boost Small-Cell Deployments
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| March 22, 2013
"2013 is shaping up as a kick-off year for small cells, driven by 4G small cells deployed for capacity upgrades," comments Stéphane Téral, principal analyst/Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics at Infonetics Research. Adds Richard Webb, directing analyst/Microwave and Carrier Wi-Fi, "As operators formulate their plans for small-cell rollouts, one of the key decisions will be how tightly to integrate Wi-Fi. Last year, we saw clear indications that picocells would have integrated Wi-Fi, and this has indeed materialized.” Infonetics forecasts the global small-cell market to grow from a very small base now to $2.7 billion by 2017, with backhaul no longer a growth inhibitor to most operators.