Femtocells hit magic $100 price point

The femtocell crowd have hit the magic $100 price point for their gear, at which point the technology should become a mainstream consumer proposition.

Femto builder Ubiquisys said Tuesday that its Femto-Engine reference architecture had helped the sector reach the $100 industry price barrier, which may well pave the way for operator subsidised or ‘free’ to the consumer devices.

The Femto-Engine system has two main components – software and hardware blueprints and manufacturing support, giving hardware manufacturers a fast track to femtocell production. The company said it has already received its first 100,000 unit order using this model.

In related news, Japanese operator SoftBank has also announced that it would be offering femtocells to its subscribers for free.

SoftBank scored a world first 14 months ago, when it becomes the first service provider to launch 3G femtocells in a commercial capacity using kit from Ubiquisys and a supporting IMS core from NEC.

Femtocells are low power wireless access points used to connect standard mobile devices to a mobile operator’s network using residential DSL or cable broadband connections. They are targeted at the domestic market, intended to be used in the home and will typically be connected to the consumer’s fixed internet connection.