Global small cell shipments will reach 10.37 million in 2020, according to the Small Cell Forum, which predicted that deployments in the enterprise sector are set to overtake the residential market.
According to forecasts calculated by Mobile Experts on behalf of the industry group, small cell shipments worldwide will total 4.04 million this year, with the residential and small office/home office (SoHo) market accounting for 3.6 million of the total.
The enterprise market is expected to show strong growth though, surging 110% to 398,000 t his year from 189,500 in 2014.
The momentum in the enterprise market is expected to continue over the next five years too; Mobile Experts predicts it will be the first small cell market to reach critical mass, with enterprise shipments reaching 5.3 million in 2020, compared to 4.3 million in the residential/SoHo market (see chart).
The statistics are included as part of the Small Cell Forum’s new report, Crossing the Chasm, published on Tuesday.
"It’s now beyond question that networks need to densify to cope with the data demand from businesses, consumers and the Internet of Things (IoT). But I think this report highlights that it is also beyond doubt that small cells will be at the heart of the solution," said Small Cell Forum chair Alan Law, in a statement.
According to the industry group, interest in small cells from enterprises is being driven by many of the same factors seen in other markets, such as the need to meet growing mobile data demand and to provide good experiences and services for employees and customers.
However, the enterprise market throws up challenges too, such as the need to meet the specific requirements of different industry verticals.
Addressing these challenges "may require new partnerships and deployment approaches, including shared ownership models, multi-operator systems, and cloud-based small-cell-as-a-service platforms," the Small Cell Forum said.
However, the reward for tackling these issues is revenue.
Analysis conducted by consultancy iGR for the Small Cell Forum concluded that 40% of enterprise small cells will be managed from the cloud by 2020. By 2019, the revenue opportunity from cloud-based small cell services is forecast to reach US$4 billion in the U.S. alone.
