ABI Research expects sales of base station processors to grow at 17 percent annually and reach $1.1 billion in 2017 driven by the growth in compact format femto-, pico-, and microcell small cell basestations, which will account for the majority of the processor market in 2017. With macrocells declining at 13 percent per year over the next 5 years, and microcells growing at a modest 7 percent the large growth in picocells and outdoor femtocells will consume the majority of next generation base station processors.
