Femtocell

Small cells to provide 2G, 3G and 4G access in one solution

Small cell vendor IP Access has unveiled a new solution, called nanoConverge, which provides mobile operators with a single converged 2G and 3G small cell Radio Access Network. The firm also plans to add LTE capability and also enable operators to run larger volumes of 2G, 3G and 4G small cells from a single converged nanoGateway next year.

Small cell start-up challenges femto vendors

US network technology startup SpiderCloud, which has developed a miniature 3G RAN, says it has solved the problem of in-building offload for enterprise use in commercial 3G cellular networks. The firm’s CEO, former Flarion exec Mike Gallagher, told Telecoms.com that none of the femtocell solutions on the market can compete with his firm’s new solution, and said he was prepared to have a “bake-off” with any vendor that claimed to have a product that could deliver the same performance.

3G femtocells now outnumber 3G basestations says report

There are now more 3G femtocells globally than 3G base stations, a report from Informa Telecoms and Media has revealed. The report, timed to coincide with the Femtocell World Summit being held in London, reveals that there are now more than 2.3 million 3G femtocells globally, compared to a total of 1.6 million macro 3G base stations.

Strong growth for femtocells in 2011, says analyst

The femtocell market is set for renewed growth in 2011, following the entrance of major semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom and deployment commitments by six operators in the last quarter alone. That is the central message from Informa Telecoms & Media’s new quarterly status report on the femtocell market, which is published on the Femto Forum’s website.

3GPP flies femto standard

Standards body 3GPP, in collaboration with industry associations the Femto Forum and the Broadband Forum announced Tuesday the creation of the first femtocell standard.

Femto backers sort out interference

Femtocell supporters announced Tuesday a number of methods designed to reduce interference between the domestic bits of kit and the surrounding macro network. The Femto Forum recently conducted research to assess the impact of femtocells on a mobile network in a wide range of deployment scenarios in order to explore co-existence issues including interference. Femtocells […]

Japan’s SoftBank first to launch 3G femtocells

Japanese operator SoftBank is to score a world first in January, when it becomes the first service provider to launch 3G femtocells in a commercial capacity. SoftBank, Japan’s third placed carrier behind NTT DoCoMo and KDDI, said it will offer 3G femtos from January 2009 using kit from UK-based Ubiquisys and a supporting IMS core […]

Femtocells set for strong adoption in Europe

An estimated 40 per cent of European users might be making a femtocell purchase within the next year, despite the fact that the technology remains largely unheard of. Femtocells have long been a hot topic on the industry agenda and awareness of the technology is often cited as an initial hurdle. However, infrastructure vendor Motorola […]

Industry makes headway in femto harmonisation

Industry association the Femto Forum said Wednesday that it has made some headway towards harmonising the integration of femtocells into mobile networks. At its plenary meeting in March, operator members agreed a number of guiding principles for interoperability on the interface between femtocell access points and femto gateways. Speaking to telecoms.com, Femto Forum chairman, Simon […]

Moto starts European femtocell trial

US kit vendor Motorola said Monday that it has completed testing of its 3G femtocell equipment and has begun trialling the device with an unidentified major European operator. Femtocells, which are like mini mobile base stations deployed either in homes or on campus to improve coverage, or potentially, to use a fixed internet connection for […]

Femtocell usage rising fast

Research firm IDC believes femtocell users will surpass the 5.7 million mark in Western Europe by the year 2011. Spending in femtocell-enabled services will grow to $900m per annum over the same period. There remains uncertainty surrounding the technological evolution towards converged networks. IMS has been held up by some as the solution that will […]