The next generation of mobile network could be built in a
totally different way to today's 3G infrastructure.
The Femto Forum,
the independent industry association that supports femtocell
deployment worldwide, and the NGMN
Alliance, the group focused on the evolution to the next
generation of mobile networks, will co-operate on how femtocells
can be built into the architecture of next-generation mobile
broadband networks such as WiMAX and LTE.
Femtocells are low-cost mobile phone base stations designed to
provide 2G and 3G mobile phone access within buildings,
The two bodies will work together to ensure that next generation
mobile networks can incorporate femtocells from the very beginning
of their deployment rather than integrating the technology
afterwards.
By using femtocells mobile operators can lower the cost of
building the next generation of mobile networks. While the 3G
mobile network has been built by building radio masts to span the
country, Simon Saunders, chairman of the Femto Forum says the next
generation of network like Mobile WiMAX or Long Term Evolution, the
extension to 2.5G, will begin within buildings. "Femtocells could
create an in-building next generation network first." This would
enable users to benefit from the fast speeds more quickly and allow
the operator to rollout the network over a long period to broaden
coverage,
Saunders says there is a technical benefit too of using a
femtocell as part of the next generation network. A femtocell
device can use Mimo (multiple in, multiple out), which takes
advantage of the radio waves that bounce off walls and metallic
objects to keep bandwidth high.
A femtocell device works like a mobile phone aerial, but
connects to the operator's network over the internet via the user's
broadband connection, instead of expensiveƒb E1 ethernet lines used
to connect mobile phone masts to the cellular network. Companies
such as
Radioframe
Networks, ip access and
Airvana sell femtocell products, specifically to tackle the
problem of poor mobile reception at home or in the phone
itself.
Mark Keenan, general manager, EMEA, Radioframe Networks, says,
"Mobile phone networks are not good enough for enterprise
telecommunications. Users have to share bandwidth and the mobile
network does not always penetrate into buildings." Keenan says this
a particular problem in SME businesses where users often use the
mobile phone as their main point of contact.
Femtocells can also be used to detect when someone enters or
leaves their home or the office, says Steve Mallinson, chief
executive officer at ip access. "This can be used to detect the
presence of someone automatically." The presence information
captured by the femtocell can then alert other people of someone's
availability. "The network knows you are home," he says.
Data access is the other application area, but people may
question why a femtocell is needed in an office or home, where
internet access is easily provided by a Wi-Fi router or wireless
access point. Mallinson says, "I have my contacts on the Blackberry
and I frequently get calls at home," so in spite of Wi-Fi, users
will still run services like Blackberry that use the mobile phone
GPRS network.
But it is in the area of new applications and next generation
networks where femtocells promise to make the biggest
difference.
A femtocell infrastructure could reduce capacity problems that
occurred in earlier mobile network rollouts. "When GPRS was first
rolled out, while London offered good coverage, the network could
not support the population," says Rob Bamforth, principal analyst
at Quocirca. For network operators, there is very little they can
do to increase the capacity of the network. But Bamforth says
femtocells are able to supplement existing cellular networks, by
enabling the devices of mobile users to connect via a short radio
link to a physical network.
Since the femtocell connects to the operator's network via the
user's broadband connection, it has little impact on the capacity
of the cellular network. With prices of femtocells falling to
around £200 to £300 for a single device, Bamforth predicts the
market is almost ready for mass consumerisation. "Once it hits the
£100 mark, the cost will be roughly the same as a wireless router.
This is the sweet spot." Bamforth belies that when this price is
reached people will start buying femtocell devices for their homes
and offices instead of wireless routers.
It is likely that many such devices will integrate a femtocell
with a wireless router, allowing the user to connect to the
internet via Wi-Fi and make mobile phone calls using the femtocell.
The cost of the calls should be significantly cheaper, as the
mobile phone is only connecting to a femtocell and not using the
operator's cellular network.
Its success will depend on how femtocells are priced. Companies
like Orange Business Services could offer femtocells as part of a
voice and broadband service. If Bamforth's predictions are accurate
then over the next 12 months operators could create different
business models to allow users to mix and match between femtocells
and broadband.