ip.access Delivers on Its Residential and Enterprise Know-how with New “S Class” Femtocell

Event Summary

January 18, 2011 -- ip.access announced its “S class” femtocell, a portfolio addition aimed at small offices and shops. Features differentiating the product from the vendor’s consumer-grade offer include open-access configuration options, two-way handover with macro networks, real-time alarms, and capacity for up to eight simultaneous users. Currently in operator trials, the S class is positioned as filling a void between residential femtos and the company’s “E class” femtocell aimed at larger enterprises.

Quick Take

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on ip.access’ latest femtocell portfolio addition, because the new “S class” small cell allows ip.access to target enterprises needing more than a residential femtocell, but not the power or capacity of the “E class” offer for larger enterprises. To be sure, this is little more than an incremental portfolio addition that will leave enterprises looking for outdoor solutions, or capacity beyond HSPA 7.2, disappointed. Regardless, it is a smart way to bridge the high and low ends of the vendor’s portfolio with added capacity as well as additional features required by the enterprise (e.g., alarms, full handover, open-access options).

• Vendor Importance: High to ip.access because the vendor’s portfolio essentially left the small business market segment untapped. To be sure, these enterprises could deploy multiple consumer-grade femtocells, but these come without the features that many businesses need (e.g., two-way handover, open access, etc.). They could also deploy the vendor’s larger enterprise solution, the E class, but this may be overkill, and likely too expensive for their needs. The S class, then, leverages ip.access’ know-how in the residential and enterprise spaces to deliver a more tailored product, playing to the vendor’s enterprise sales channels and hedging against increasing competition in the consumer small cell space.

• Market Impact: Moderate on the femtocell market, because despite pointing to a need for femtocell portfolio diversity, competitors will claim that they can deliver similar solutions. Already, Alcatel-Lucent has launched an enterprise femtocell with Ubiquisys selling the value of its “femto grid” for leveraging multiple lower-capacity femtos into wider coverage. Capacity aside, however, what the new S class femtocell points to is the need for femtocell vendors to address customer demands in terms of software and service functionality… alongside capacity and form factor diversity. At the same time, however, the fact that ip.access continues to evolve its portfolio and customer base points out that competitors which have been more quiet on their femtocell momentum of late need to step up their efforts in order to avoid being marginalized.

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