Femtocells: the next big thing in mobile communications

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 05 August 2009 14:27

Opinion and Analysis

In a surprisingly short time femtocells have progressed from concept to commercial reality. They are now on the verge of bringing a whole gamut of new applications to consumers by integrating cellphones into the digital home.

It is just three years since iTWire reported ABI Research describing femtocells as "a very nascent market". ABI, however, did predict that, by 2011 there would be 32 million femtocells worldwide serving 102 million users. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/5376/127/

When femtocells first emerged they were touted simply as home installed cellular base stations, backhauled over a broadband connection that would enable mobile operators to relieve traffic on their macro network and divert business and revenue away from fixed line phone and broadband service providers.

But with the first handful of operators now offering femtocells commercially these devices are evolving rapidly to support a whole range of new services through integration with the new generation of smartphones and other components of the digital home.

Alcatel-Lucent is the supplier of femtocells to three of the operators that have launched full commercial femtocell offerings: Vodafone UK, Vodafone Qatar and Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan. David Swift, Alcatel-Lucent's senior manager for wireless networks marketing and strategy in the UK, spoke to iTWire while on a visit to Australia this week.

Although an integral part of the cellular network sharing the same spectrum as the main network femtocells are not devices requiring complex installation, Swift explained. They are about the size of a book, are sold in retail stores and are very much plug and play. "You give your mobile numbers in the shop, take the femtocell home and plug it in. There are just two wires one for power and one for the broadband connection - and by the time you've made a cup of tea it will be up and running."

Swift said that operators are using them to offer reduced tariffs for calls from home and dual number services. When at home all the household's cellphones registered with the service can be reached on a common fixed line number, anyone can pick up the call and transfer it between users. "People like having a fixed line house number because they don't want to give their personal mobile number to everybody."


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