Device Boosts Cell Phone Coverage Indoors
Posted on: Thursday, 3 April 2008, 13:20 CDT
The future of cell-phone use may be exhibited in femtocells – small cellular base stations similar in appearance to Wi-Fi routers that boost cell-phone coverage inside the home.Sprint Nextel Corp. currently sells the devices in Denver, Indianapolis and Nashville, Tenn., with future plans for expansion in the works.
Tony Melone, Verizon Wireless’ Chief Technology Officer, announced on Wednesday that the company is in position to distribute femtocells this year. No further details such as cost are known at this point.
Femtocells are useful on both consumer and service provider fronts because they address the troublesome issue of poor cellular coverage within the home while also reducing the load on outdoor cellular towers.
Retailers at the CTIA Wireless industry show in Las Vegas say there is a clear need for customers to purchase femtocells.
"It's so much to their benefit to get these into people's homes that they're going to subsidize these things," said Paul Callahan, vice president of business development for Airvana Inc . The company is currently making and distributing femtocells for testing.
Still, some skeptics say there are too many unanswered questions at this point.
"Every year there is a bit of a hype around something," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, chief executive of major telecom gear supplier LM Ericsson AB. "Femto on the surface has a lot of promises ... but there are interference issues around it. The more you dive into it the more question marks arise."
Sprint spokeswoman Emmy Anderson said customer feedback has been positive and there have been no reports of interference between the femtocells and towers.
Right now, femtocells cost about $200, meanwhile Sprint is charging customers $49.99 for the box, with an additional $15 a month for unlimited calls from the home.
This discrepancy is one concern for Verizon, Malone said.
"Where we spend a lot of time is figuring, 'Where is that balance? Where does it makes sense for our customers, and where does it fit into our strategy?'" he said.
By next year, femtocells should be available for around $150, said Airvana’s Callahan.
Providers such as T-Mobile USA are investing in a different form of technology. Unlicensed Mobile Access, which is already popular with overseas carriers, gives customers unlimited cell phone access within their Wi-Fi enabled home.
As Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile USA all show signs of future expansion to femtocells or UMA, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegal said the company is looking at the technology, but is in the very early stages of doing so.
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Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports
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