Worldwide shipments of dual-mode cellular/VoWiFi handsets are expected to top 300 million units by 2011, a new report from ABI Research suggests. However the expected arrival of “femtocell access points” toward the end of the report's forecast period may prove “disruptive for the market,” ABI says.

Femtocell access points — also known as 3G access points — are small cellular base stations designed for use in residential or corporate environments. Like WiFi access points, they connect to the customer's own broadband connection. Advantages touted for femtocells include greater network efficiency, better in-building wireless coverage, and a more suitable platform on which to realize fixed-mobile convergence services, according to ABI.

Femtocell technology theoretically eliminates the need for the complexity and costs of WiFi in handsets, according to ABI. “Some operators now believe that they don't need to subsidize more expensive Wi-Fi-enabled handsets; they can use the handsets they have, and put femtocells in the home,” said senior analyst Philip Solis.

Of the 300 million dual-mode units forecast for 2011, Solis expects that handsets based on the emerging 802.11n protocol (for 100 Mbps WiFi) will outnumber those of other protocols. “Cellular handset vendors have made sure that their voices have been heard in the 802.11n standards process, so they are getting all the optional features that they want,” he notes.

More information on ABI's new study, “Voice Over Wi-Fi Handsets,” is available here.

 
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