Femtocells and broadcasting solutions must rescue 3G networks, says Unwired Insight

With a 20-fold increase in 3G traffic volumes forecast over the next five years, alternative means of delivering services to 3G handsets will be essential in order to prevent major capacity problems, according to Unwired Insight. A new report, entitled ‘Will 3G Networks Cope?', shows that complementary distribution methods, including femtocells and broadcasting solutions, could collectively carry nearly half of total service traffic by 2014.

"Many 3G network operators are in for a tough time over the next few years," says co-author Dr Alastair Brydon. "If they don't now start using complementary distribution methods, such as femtocells and broadcasting networks, 3G networks will not be able to cope with future traffic demand, even with LTE," he added. Article