* Verizon Wireless, AT&T to join femtocell service ranks
Femtocell technology appears to be on an upswing, potentially boosting cellular services’ appeal to compete with Wi-Fi usage in residential and small office environments. Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility are reportedly joining the ranks of their competitors, T-Mobile and Sprint, in offering residential and SOHO femtocell services in 2009. In such a scenario, a low-cost, miniature version of a cell tower is installed inside a home or office to provide in-building wireless voice and data coverage over licensed airwaves.
It’s clear that the data- and multimedia-centric capabilities of the slickest new smartphones are requiring consistent and plentiful bandwidth. And that means users need broadband wireless services inside and out, be it 3G/4G data plans, WiMAX or Wi-Fi. The nascent femtocell approach currently addresses the 3G voice and data issue in smaller buildings, where reception from a carrier’s outdoor macro-cellular tower might be weak or nonexistent.
In such cases, the environment (up to about 5,000 square feet) becomes, essentially, its own cell. The cell is connected via broadband Internet access (DSL, cable modem, etc.) to a landline backhaul network. In the case of AT&T, the cell serves about 10 voice users or about four simultaneous voice and data users, according to the carrier, which is reportedly set to trial the service in three cities later this quarter.
When and how will femtocells be appropriate for larger businesses? Enterprises that wish to bring the cellular network inside today install a licensed base station(s) called a microcell or picocell procured directly or indirectly from their carrier(s). A distributed antenna system (DAS) typically propagates the cellular signals throughout the enterprise via cabling connected to antennas strategically placed for appropriate coverage throughout the building. In the near term, femtocells possibly will supplement such systems for spot coverage.
But femtocells replacing the microcell/DAS setup throughout the enterprise? That might be a ways off. How the carrier will manage its licensed spectrum in what essentially would become hundreds or thousands of extra cell towers within enterprise buildings is still unclear.
