We've written a lot in these pages over the past few years about the emerging femtocell opportunity, on the basis that self-optimizing, small-cell technology could redefine the way mobile data networks are deployed and operated.

Now, with increasing awareness of the technology's potential, and with a number of trials underway around the world, Heavy Reading has just completed its first "Femtocell Deployment & Market Perception Survey." The in-depth study aggregates the views of 111 service provider professionals, from 79 different network operators, to reveal a market-wide view of the major femtocell opportunities and challenges, and to identify the vendor capabilities most valued by operators.

Femtocells – a.k.a. home base stations or cellular access points – are low-power, unmanaged devices that provide mobile phones with access to cellular and home networks. User traffic is backhauled over consumer-grade broadband connections to the mobile core, or forwarded directly to the Internet.

Femtocell modules are expected to be integrated into home gateway equipment, operate in licensed spectrum, and will work with standard mobile phones. The idea is to provide low-cost coverage and capacity extension to the wide-area network and use this capability to improve end-user service and start to offer new, or enhanced, applications.

At face value, the concept is a good one. What the Heavy Reading survey does is test the hypothesis against the views of network operators, identifies the applications expected to drive the femtocell business case, and reveals the biggest perceived technical barriers to commercial deployment.

Here are some of the highlights from the study:

— Gabriel Brown, Senior Analyst, Heavy Reading

For more information or a FREE PREVIEW of the "Femtocell Deployment & Market Perception Survey," please contact: