ABI in its latest Competitive Assessment on innovation and implementation in Small Cells and Carrier Wi-Fi solution, positions Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) as the highest ranked among the Small Cells and Carrier Wi-Fi solution providers, followed by Huawei and Cisco in second and third places respectively.
According to ABI, the increase in Small cells and Carrier Wi-Fi deployments are driven mainly by the rise in the Heterogeneous Networks (HetNet) and indoor enterprise market. In the small cells innovation category, ALU, NSN and NEC rank as the top three, while ALU, Huawei and Ericsson top the implementation category. ABI also said that ALU has managed to secure the largest number of publicized small cells contracts with top tier-1 operators while Huawei has the highest global reach in terms of small cells with significant presence in all regions.
“The small cells market is very competitive now with the increasing demand for LTE, Carrier Wi-Fi, and enterprise femtocells,” says research analyst, Ahmed Ali.Small cells offerings slightly differ based on the company’s background (i.e. infrastructure equipment manufacturers, ICT providers, and in-building solution providers, etc.).Most small cell solutions deliver an appreciable increase in voice/data coverage and capacity where deployed. One of the highly anticipated products is the multi-mode small cell that operates on 3G and 4G simultaneously. Continuing, Ali says, “Vendors need to start pushing the envelope in order to differentiate themselves and consider other major areas for growth such as value added services and small cells wireless “
