In 2011, shipments of dual-mode (mobile-plus-VoIP) handsets will top 300m worldwide, says ABI Research, but there’s a wild card in the anticipated arrival of femtocell access points towards the end of the forecast period –
WiFi enabled handsets may have to compete with the new, small base stations designed for residential or corporate environments. ABI thinks Femtocell shipments will reach 19m a year in 2011, thanks mainly to the addition of extra features such as WiFi access, integrated ADSL gateways and IPTV set-top boxes.