Nokia Siemens Networks said Monday that it has teamed up with US kit supplier Airvana to develop an end to end femtocell platform for mobile operators worldwide.

The offering will be targeted at 3G operators intending to extend their coverage and offer new voice and mobile broadband data services.

Femtocells are small cellular access points tethered to a broadband internet connection, allowing operators to provide mobile broadband services in building by using existing connectivity.

In a recent report, ABI Research forecasts that the market for femtocell equipment is expected to grow 95 per cent per year, to more than $4bn by 2012.

“Delivering operators a complete, standards-based femtocell solution will enable them to offer new services and expand relationships with their customers,” said Timo Hyppola of the Indoor Radio Solutions Product Line at Nokia.