What is a Femtocell?
Mobile cellular and 3G networks normally ften suffer from poor penetration and reception in certain areas, like indoors. This decreases the quality of voice and video communication and slows down high-speed services. A femtocell is a small device that is used to improve wireless coverage over a small area, mostly indoor. It is a small cellular base station, also called a wireless access point that connects to a broadband Internet connection and broadcasts it into radio waves in its area of coverage. As a result, mobile handsets can handle phone calls through the femtocell, via the broadband Internet connection.The name femtocell has the prefix 'femto', meaning a very small cell (area of network coverage). Small is rather a big word here, because femto denotes a division that is mathematically represented by 10 raised to the power of -15, or a quadrillionth. In plain English, it is one divided by a figure with fifteen zeros. Well, close to infinitely small.
How Femtocells Work?
When registered handsets enter the range of a femtocell, handing over to the femtocell network is done automatically, such that calls are channeled through the broadband connection. One femtocell can support up to 5 mobile handsets.Femtocell technology, which is another block in the Fixed-Mobile Convergence concept, is still in its early days and it is receiving fierce competition from UMA and Wi-Fi technologies. For instance, one might ask why invest in femtocells when a cheap Wi-Fi router can do the work with a Wi-Fi supporting handset, given that handsets supporting Wi-Fi are becoming more common and are being shipped by hundreds of millions.
What Femtocells Cost?
Femtocells are not cheap. There is firstly the acquisition cost of the femtocell devices, which range between $100 and $250 each. Added to that is a monthly fee that providers charge for using the device. This cost alone puts many prospective consumers off, who'd rather turn to free running Wi-Fi and UMA. But is the cost worth the benefits? Again, as with all other technologies, this will depend on who uses it and how. At face value, it seems more suitable for businesses.One advantage that femtocells have over UMA is that the latter uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology for the small area coverage while a femtocell simply repeats the wireless WAN signals (cellular or 3G). This allows femtocells to work with any mobile handset and phone, while UMA requires special Wi-Fi supporting devices.
The Future of Femtocells
As at now, femtocells haven't really made the hit, and unless the technology is improved, duly marketed and appropriately supported and followed by other players in the area, like mobile handset manufacturers, it won't make the weight to outbalance Wi-Fi and UMA.The main problem is the running cost of femtocells. Wi-Fi on the other hand, once installed and running, is free.
