ABI: Growth Ahead for In-building Wireless Systems

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ABI: Growth Ahead for In-building Wireless Systems

It’s a problem most users of cell phones and other wireless devices have encountered at some point: spotty indoor network coverage. The signal that may be so strong while walking around outside or driving from Point A to Point B may be weak or nonexistent inside a house or other building.

 

Broadening and strengthening indoor coverage for wireless networks is the topic of a recent report from ABI Research, in which the firm notes the current and anticipated growth of the in-building wireless systems market.

 

Revenues from deployment of such systems, ABI says, likely will exceed $3.6 billion by 2011. Most deployments will be focused on commercial buildings. The growth of this industry will affect carriers, businesses, building owners, equipment manufacturers, and solutions providers.

 

ABI analyst Dan Shey noted in the report that indoor wireless coverage is about more than just convenience; it also impacts business productivity. That is why business locations will be the primary locations where networks are expanded.

 

The report predicts that the majority (more than 60 percent) of in-building wireless networks will be deployed using distributed antenna systems. That type of technology also will dominate more than 75 percent of equipment revenues for in-building systems.

 

“These systems are most economical for buildings larger than 100,000 square feet, a size where coverage and signal level capacity from outdoor networks into buildings begin to fall significantly,” ABI notes in its report.

 

Of course, not all buildings are larger than 100,000 square feet. For smaller structures, ABI said that repeaters will be most useful for extending network coverage. As time goes on, though, repeaters will be replaced by picocells and femtocells.

 

For buildings smaller than 100,000 square feet, repeaters are the primary solution; however repeater shipment growth will slow due to replacement by picocells and femtocells.

 

“Repeaters are a cost effective way to provide coverage inside buildings but they do not add capacity, which will be needed as 3G services usage increases,” Shey said in a statement. “New picocells and femtocells which can be backhauled via an IP connection are a cost effective way to add capacity and coverage.”

 

Regardless of the technology used, for most people the fact that wireless coverage will be improved indoors is a cause for celebration. What will you do once you don’t have to worry about signal fading away when you step through the doors?



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