http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2011/3Q11-2G-3G-4G-Femtocell-Market-Highlights.asp

Chelmsford, MA, November 7, 2011 – Airvana LLC, the global market share leader in femtocells, has today announced the successful demonstration of the world’s first end-to-end LTE femtocell solution in partnership with Hitachi Communications Technology Americas.  The live demonstration was conducted for a Tier 1 Mobile Service Operator in September 2011.  

The end-to-end solution used commercially available LTE terminals, the Airvana LTE femtocell, the Hitachi HeNB Gateway, and Hitachi’s commercially available Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solution.  The demonstration included performance tests as well as live video streaming and internet browsing.

An LTE femtocell, also known as a Home eNode B (HeNB), provides LTE base-station functionality in a very small, cost-effective form factor to ensure maximum LTE performance to users inside businesses and homes.  In wireless networks where data demands are constantly outpacing existing infrastructure, LTE femtocell solutions enable the efficient handling of LTE data traffic while minimizing the signaling load to the existing EPC elements in the core network.

“Airvana has a history of innovation, with the first 3G CDMA femtocell, the first IMS-based femtocell, and the first standards-based, open femtocell management system,” explained Michael Clark, Airvana’s General Manager for femtocells.  “Being the first vendor to successfully complete an end-to-end LTE small cell demonstration is another tremendous accomplishment and proves the readiness of our LTE femtocell network architecture, soon to be introduced into commercial LTE networks,” added Clark.

Airvana and Hitachi have partnered in the past to provide end-to-end CDMA femtocell solutions; the partnership is now extended to LTE.  “The HeNB Gateway leverages the Hitachi ER5000 MME’s proven subscriber and mobility management software and demonstrates the innovative architectural flexibility of Hitachi’s solution.  We are pleased to provide this product as part of the end-to-end LTE femtocell solution with Airvana,” said Don Keeler, VP of PLM & Business Development, Hitachi Communication Technologies America, Inc.

“In addition to the LTE femtocell, Airvana provides a standards-based femtocell management system for automated configuration, radio interference management, and monitoring of both CDMA and LTE femtocells,” noted Michael McFarland, Airvana’s Senior Director of Product Management and Marketing.  “This platform is already managing hundreds of thousands of multi-mode 1x/EVDO CDMA femtocells in commercial wireless networks and is being extended to support LTE.” 

The full release and more information on Airvana, LLC please visit the web site at www.airvana.com.

Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and small cells at Infonetics Research noted that adoption by tier-1 customers, together with the higher ARPU enjoyed by EV-DO femtocells has helped to drive Airvana’s revenue market share to 22%, allowing them to take the lead in the overall femtocell market in 2Q11.  Webb added, “Global femtocell revenue will grow nearly 40% in 2011, indicating that the market is accelerating and has started to achieve some scale.  Infonetics anticipates that femtocells will gain mass-scale traction in 2012 and we’ll see the market increase by 100% in that year.”

Read more on the Airvana web site....

This session, presented on behalf of the Femto Forum, will provide an update on the overall femtocell industry and its ongoing impact on wireless networks. Mr. McFarland will also explain the different types of femtocells, technologically and in terms of a business model, and how femtos will help solve the mobile data crunch.

 With over 16 years of experience in the communications industry, Mr. McFarland currently leads marketing and product management for Airvana’s CDMA and LTE femtocell solutions, and is a member of the Femto Forum Promotional Council.

 For further information about the Mobile Broadband World, please see  http://www.iir-telecoms.com/event/mobilebroadband.

To view the entire media alert, visit Arivana's press release section on their web site http://www.airvana.com/news-events/press-releases

Dr. Shantigram Jagannath, Vice President & Managing Director for Airvana Networks India, recently had an article on 3G in India published in Connect-World.  The opening portion of the article is posted below, visit the Airvana web site here to view the entire document.

3G is coming to India, and operators are busy rolling out last-mile access and backhaul networks.  3G networks are deploying slowly, but 3G-compatible handsets have been on the market for three years so most business users and high ARPU users already have smartphones that support 3G.  These networks are expensive, and ARPUs in India are among the world's lowest, so operators are looking to value-added services and lower cost network technology to reduce costs sufficiently to enable affordable broadband.

Read more here