Samsung and Cisco lead a femtocell basestation market that is forecast to be worth $300 million in 2011, according to market research company Infonetics Research Inc.

However, the market is still nascent and Infonetics does not expect mass deployments until 2012. The market will triple to reach $1 billion in 2013 and triple again to reach $3 billion in 2015, according to the firm.

The global revenue from femtocells used in consumer, enterprise, rural and public spaces grew 45 percent from 1Q10 to 1Q11, the firm said. Sequentially, worldwide femtocell units sold increased 3 percent while revenue decreased 3 percent in 1Q11 from 4Q10, as the market moves toward sub-$100 unit pricing.

Samsung is edging into the lead because of a contract to supply CDMA2000 femtocells to Verizon Wireless. Cisco/ip.access have been selected to supply 3G femtocells to AT&T, also for North American deployment.

Other players include: Alcatel-Lucent engaged with Vodafone; NEC/Ubiquisys which has had wins with SFR, Network Norway and MegaFon amongst others; and Airvana, which has been selected by Sprint and KDDi.

"The femtocell vendor scene is highly dynamic, buoyed by product innovation, customer trials and wins, and the scaling up of shipments. There is still everything to play for," said Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMAX, microwave, mobile devices at Infonetics Research, in a statement.