3G Femtocell solution unveiled in India by NEC

Femtocell

To make available 3G mobile services to its enterprise and residential customers, NEC has come out with the launch of its 3G Femtocell solution which will be launched within a few months. “NEC is rewriting the conventional 3G deployment norms so that mobile operators can capture the 3G market quickly and cost efficiently at a time when they are under immense cost stress following 3G network roll-outs and high 3G licensing,” said Atsushi Kuroda, General Manager, International Sales and Operations Business Unit.

Femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable); current designs typically support 2 to 4 active mobile phones in a residential setting, and 8 to 16 active mobile phones in enterprise settings. A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. Although much attention is focused on WCDMA, the concept is applicable to all standards, including GSM, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE solutions.

For a mobile operator, the attractions of a femtocell are improvements to both coverage and capacity, especially indoors. This can reduce both capital expenditure and operating expense. There may also be opportunity for new services. Consumers benefit from improved coverage and potentially better voice quality and battery life. Depending on the carrier they may also be offered more attractive tariffs e.g. discounted calls from home.

Nearly half a million Femtocell devices have come into existence because of the eight contracts NEC has worldwide with mobile operators for Femtocell system deployments. In India, a trial is in progress of the NEC Femtocell solution with a mobile operator. NEC still has 16 system trials in progress.