Femtocells struggle to catch on -- Femtocells -- InformationWeek

The market for femtocells in 2009 is not as strong as expected, and ABI Research said Thursday it would be scaling down its estimates for the space by about 55%.

Femtocells are essentially miniature cell phone towers that tie the owner's wired Internet connection to a mobile operator's network, and can boost cellular and mobile data reception within a home or office. These devices are being advertised to consumers to help reception, as well as to enterprises as a plank in their fixed-mobile convergence strategies. AT&T, Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless have all released commercial femtocells, or devices that offer femtocell-like abilities, but ABI estimates only about 350,000 femtocells will be shipped by the end of the year...