Tecom gears up shipments of UMA femtocell base stations

Taiwan-based telecom equipment maker Tecom has been shipping its UMA (unlicensed mobile access) femtocell base stations to North America since the first quarter of this year, with shipments for such products to continue gaining momentum, according to sources at Tecom.

Monthly shipments of UMA femtocell base stations to a leading branded vendor in North America is currently running at a rate of more than 100,000 units, the sources noted.

Total demand for the UMA femtocell base stations in North America is expected to reach two million units in 2008 and further expand to six to seven million units in 2009, although demand for such products was barely emerging earlier this year, the sources indicated.

Tecom may ramp up its shipments of UMA femtocell base stations in the second half of 2008, with its total shipments for this year to hit one million units by year-end, according to an estimate of market sources.

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