Telefonica selects Casa Systems Femto Cells

Casa Systems, a supplier of next-generation distributed and virtualised solutions for mobile, fixed broadband and cable access networks, announced that Telefónica Spain has selected it to supply 4G femto cells that will be deployed to improve in-building service and coverage for residential customers.

Telefónica serves around 349 million fixed, mobile and broadband commercial and residential accesses worldwide, and is seeking to increase the density of its mobile network to address growing demand resulting from new devices and applications. As part of this initiative it has selected 4G femto cells from Casa's Apex Ultra-Broadband 4G small cell solution offering.

By installing femto cells in its network, Telefónica can increase network capacity and availability for customers, as well as prepare for the future transition to the 5G.

Casa's end-to-end small cell solutions are complemented by the Axyom ultra-broadband software framework, which enables high-density transport and access concentration in a virtual multi-access edge-computing footprint located at the network edge. The solution provides support for both 3G/LTE and WiFi technology.

The Apex Ultra-Broadband small cells support 3G and 4G cellular, WiFi, LTE-A, 3.5 GHz CBRS and MuLTEFire access technologies, while the Axyom small cell manager provides a unified management framework designed to enable zero touch plug-and-play provisioning and autonomous optimisation to improve performance and help reduce opex.

These technologies combine with the virtual mobile EPC of the Axyom software framework to create an end-to-end mobile architecture designed to enhance mobile network performance and support the transition to 5G in the future.

In February at MWC Casa Systems announced the expansion of its mobile solutions portfolio to support the migration to providing 5G services. Casa's upgraded Apex small cells, Axyom small cell manager and virtual mobile EPC solutions, including S-GW, P-GW, MME and SAE-GW offerings, combine to create an end-to-end mobile architecture designed to meet the demands of 5G.

http://www.casa-systems.com/assets/press/17-04-12-Casa-Telefonica.pdf

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Infonetics: Growing Market for Femtocell and Enterprise Small Cells

Worldwide femtocell and enterprise small cell equipment revenue reached $144 million in 1Q14, up 6% from 4Q13, according to a new report from Infonetics Research.

Overall, the femtocell and enterprise small cell equipment market has seen robust unit and revenue growth over the previous half-year period, and we remain optimistic that these small cell segments have sufficient market drivers and support among operators to sustain continuous year-over-year unit and revenue growth through 2018,” notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile backhaul and small cells at Infonetics Research.

“4G macro network deployments are underway in many places, and operators are starting to launch 4G-based femtocells to augment mobile broadband services,” adds Webb. “Boosted by enterprise small cell adoption kicking in to help mobile operators support enterprise-specific voice and data offerings, we believe 4G femtocell and enterprise small cell revenue will climb to $2.3 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77 percent from 2013 to 2018.”

Some highlights:

• LTE femtocells, the highest ARPU products in the market, are a driving force behind revenue growth, though W-CDMA femtocells still make up the dominant proportion of unit shipments
• The residential segment led with 59% of femtocell revenue in 1Q14, ahead of the enterprise small cell segment
• These are distinct markets in their own right, and Infonetics expects to see increasing specialization from vendors and operators alike
• Integrated femtocells grew to 8% of total units in 1Q14 and are anticipated to account for about a third of unit shipments by 2018, predominantly into the residential segment
• Femtocell/enterprise small cell equipment revenue market share leaders in 1Q14 are, in alphabetical order, Airvana, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, and ip.access

http://www.infonetics.com

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