Verizon Wireless is extending its relationship with Samsung, making the company a supplier to its LTE network for the first time. This week Samsung Mobile said it will supply indoor LTE small cell solutions for Verizon, including femtocells, core network elements and a complete element management system. Verizon will use Samsung’s femtocell solution to extend its coverage in highly trafficked areas, and to offer better coverage and capacity for enterprise customers as well. Samsung says one femtocell can provide more than 60 simultaneous connections to the LTE network.
“This win may not carry the same weight as a macro cell deployment, but it does serve to raise the infrastructure team’s profile and will help it emerge from under the shadow of its much better-known devices group,” blogged Ovum analyst Daryl Schoolar. “Today’s enterprise win could turn into tomorrow’s metro small cell win, or possibly even a macro cell win if the operator decides that a major RAN refresh will be needed to support more advanced LTE-A features.”
Meanwhile Brazilian operators are looking to small cells to increase capacity ahead of the World Cup and the 2016 Summer Games. TIM, Brazil’s second largest mobile operator, says it will deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s small cells in its 3G network over the next 3 years. The company said small cells have proven themselves as solutions that offer “good service levels for clients and low environmental impacts.”
Infrastructure giants like Samsung and Alcatel-Lucent appear to be off to a strong start as the femtocell market expands, but non-traditional competitors are also eyeing the space. Taiwan’s Quanta, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of notebook computers, is creating a portfolio of indoor small cells based on Broadcom’s 3G/LTE chipsets. The Quanta small cells will operate in TD or FDD LTE bands. Broadcom will also supply chips for enterprise and residential small cell solutions made by Datang Mobile of China. Here in the U.S., small cell specialist SpiderCloud Wireless is promoting its ERAN solution directly to enterprises, and selling to the mobile operators who service those businesses.
