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FemtoCell

Femtocell is a wide-area wireless broadband using home base stations. This is achieved using a tiny cellular radio unit, commonly known as an access point [AP] to improve coverage and boost download speeds in the home. Femtocell AP's are also known as 3G AP's.

Mobile operators increasingly perceive a threat from the convergence of WiFi, VoIP and fixed telephony within the home, and are seeking a way to increase their share of the residential calls market. Femtocell may just be that answer.

The femtocell or home base station supports cellular calls locally, and then uses broadband, [DSL or cable modem] to carry traffic to the operator's core network.

Femtocell Industry Support

Femtocell Forum; the new industry forum is dedicated to home base stations. Several large European carriers are also examining options in this space, including:

France Telecom SA
Vodafone Group plc

Both are taking steps toward deploying these boxes. For more on the Femtocell Forum

Femtocell User Benefits

The femtocell connects to the home network, enabling content on the phone to be streamed to devices around the home, such as TVs and stereo systems, as well as giving the user access to all the normal 3G services at up to 7.2Mbps, assuming their handset supports HSDPA.

The technology also suits small business premises. The small, low-power transmitter/receiver inside buildings allows 3G handsets to connect to local cells and route calls over ADSL lines. This provides small businesses with reliable Wi-Fi functionality over 3G networks inside buildings.

Operator Benefits of Femtocells

Operators deploying femtocells benefit in many ways.

Conceptually, femtocells allow carriers to price cellular data services in the home aggressively, with the ultimate goal of shaping consumer behavior.

Strategically and financially, the routing of traffic through the IP network significantly enhances network quality and capacity, and reduces the OPEX that carriers expend on backhaul.

Other benefits from femtocell include:

greater network efficiency
reduced churn
better in-building wireless coverage
ability to shape subscriber data usage patterns
ability to build platforms upon which fixed-mobile convergence services can be realized.

Overall, Femtocells are better in-building coverage for technologies such as WCDMA and HSDPA is an incredibly important aspect of service delivery.

Femtocell networks enable cellular operators to counter competitors offering UMA or voice-over-WiFi (VoWiFi), with the critical difference in that Femtocell allows customers to use existing standard cellular handsets.

Femtocell Market Rollout

A recent study by ABI Research forecasts that by 2011 there will be 102 million users of femtocell products on 32 million access points worldwide.

With worldwide shipments of dual-mode cellular/WiFi VoIP handsets forecast to exceed 300 million units by 2011, the expected arrival of femtocell AP toward the end of this forecast period may well prove disruptive for the market.

Netgear is working with femtocell maker Ubiquisys on a 3G femtocell with a Wi-Fi access point for resale by mobile carriers next year. Netgear claim this unit will support both UMA and SIP/IMS. It will initially only support standard 802.11g, not 802.11n

Companies known to be developing femtocell components and technologies include 3Way Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, NEC Corp., Samsung Electronics, Huawei Technologies and ZTE.

Whilst there are many trials in Europe, Asia and the U.S. many big international groups and operators are reluctant to commit to a timeframe to roll out commercial services. But the Forum expects to see new offerings by the middle of 2008.

The volumes will depend on how quickly the industry will be able to gear up to production, radio planning and provisioning.

Femtocell Technology

A femtocell is an ultralow-cost 3G/HSDPA base station for use in a home or small office as an alternative to WiFi and unlicensed mobile access (UMA).

It was developed by picoChip, Bath, England.

The PC8208 modem reference design for a 3G access point or “femtocell” base station supports HSDPA with a software upgrade to HSUPA.

Technology pioneers supporting this new technology include: picoChip, ip.access, Ubiquisys, Airvana, Netgear, RadioFrame and Tatara.

Femcells are a viable option for realizing converged fixed-mobile services. They provide operators with a cost-effective way to support fixed-mobile substitution, as well as a platform in the home upon which additional features such as Wi-Fi and IPTV can be layered.

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