By Paul Sandle
BARCELONA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Small cell radio equipmentthat boosts network coverage is providing big opportunities fortelecom operators as they face growing demand for smartphoneInternet access in busy streets, shopping centres and stadiums.
The devices - small radio nodes which provide networkcoverage over a range of between 10 and 200 metres - have beenused by businesses and consumers to provide a signal in areas ofpoor coverage for years.
Now operators are using them to bolster public broadbandnetworks and ease pressure on traditional base stations, as theystruggle to meet exploding data demand from customers wanting toaccess the Internet via smartphones and tablets on the go.
Nicola Palmer, chief technology officer of Verizon Wireless, said the U.S. carrier would deploy up to 300 4G smallcells this year and "a lot more in 2014".
"I view small cells as a complement to the rest of thenetwork especially in areas of intense demand such as businessdistricts or shopping malls, but they won't replace thetraditional mobile tower," she said at the Mobile World Congresstrade show in Barcelona.
Small cells, which are around the size of a shoe box, can beclustered in streets between tall buildings - canyons wheremobile reception can be poor - and where demand is high.
Telecoms consultancy Informa predicted the deployment ofpublic small cells would generate 2016 revenues of $16.2billion, creating an opportunity for network gear providers likeEricsson, Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks, which make them.
"Public access small cells in busy urban areas are set to beone of the defining mobile network trends in the coming years,"said analyst Dimitris Mavrakis in Barcelona.
"The vendors who succeed in this space are going to win thelion's share of small cell revenues."
The installed base of small cells was set to grow fromalmost 11 million today to 92 million in 2016, with a totalmarket value of over $22 billion, Informa said.
Telecoms gear maker Alcatel-Lucent said as demandfor data soared, the capacity of the main network would run outof steam, and small cells would be part of the solution.
HERE AND NOW
"It's no longer an 'if small cells', in fact in my mind it'sno longer a 'when small cells', it's here and now," said MichaelJ. Schabel, the company's vice president of small cells.
Companies including AT&T and Vodafone UK aswell as Verizon, have announced plans to roll out more smallcells in their networks, as consumers increasingly expect aseamless data service.
Mike Flanagan, chief technology officer for network softwarefirm Arieso, said the networks were coming under pressure from asmall group of users who consume a huge amount of data, oftenfor video or gaming.
He said one percent of all subscribers consumed more thanhalf of all the data being transmitted in the network.
"So when you employ these small cells, don't think of auniform ubiquitous small-cell coverage across a certain area,like Soho in London," he said.
"Instead look at it as a surgical placement of small cellsprecisely where they are required to satisfy the demand of thoseextreme one percent of users."
He said the technology was now able to detect where thatdemand was located down to the individual building.
"If the network operator can just satisfy the demands of onepercent they've doubled the effective capacity of their wholenetwork."
Vodafone (VOD)