According to a new In-Stat report small cell base stations—femtocells, picocells, and microcells—are going to have a large role in this deployment strategy. 

In the first phases of 4G deployment, operators are installing LTE and WiMAX base stations in existing 3G locations because it’s a quick easy and relatively inexpensive strategy that will let them get broad coverage quickly, says report.

“A new class of base station, the compact base station, will enable pico and micro base stations to be smaller, cheaper and more power-efficient than ever before,” says Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. 

“Compact devices, such as indoor picocells and microcells, have been around for years, but are findin different roles.  Others, like enterprise femtocells and outdoor metropolitan picocells, are a new class of base station only possible in the last year because of developing semiconductors from companies like Freescale, Qualcomm, Percello, Design Art Networks, and Picochip,” further he adds.

According to In-Stat research, annual Femtocell Shipments will reach 31.8 million by 2014. In-Stat research, Small Cells Will Play a Very Large Part in 4G: Worldwide Femto, Pico, and Microcell Market Analysis covers the worldwide market for femtocells, picocells, and microcells.