In telecommunications, a femtocell is a small, low-power 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) and typically supports 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.
Operating Mode
Femtocells are sold by the mobile network operator (MNO) and are typically the size of a residential gateway or smaller.
In most cases, the end-user must declare which mobile phone numbers are allowed to connect to his femtocell, usually via a web interface provided by the MNO. When these mobile phones arrive under coverage of the femtocell, they switch over from the macrocell (outdoor) to the femtocell automatically. When the user leaves the femtocell coverage (whether in a call or not) area, his phone hands over seamlessly to the macro network.
Femtocells require specific hardware, so existing WiFi or DSL routers cannot be upgraded to a femtocell. Also, once installed in a specific location, most femtocells have protection mechanisms so that a location change will be reported to the MNO.
Femtocells are either under development or commercially available for cdma2000, GSM, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE.
Benefits for users
• “5 bar” coverage when there is no existing signal or poor coverage e.g. rural areas
• Higher mobile data capacity, which is important if the end-user makes use of mobile data on his mobile phone
• Depending on the pricing policy of the MNO, special tariffs at home can be applied for calls placed under femtocell coverage
• For enterprise users, having femtos instead of DECT phones enables them to have a single phone, so a single contact list, etc.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell
Operating Mode
Femtocells are sold by the mobile network operator (MNO) and are typically the size of a residential gateway or smaller.
In most cases, the end-user must declare which mobile phone numbers are allowed to connect to his femtocell, usually via a web interface provided by the MNO. When these mobile phones arrive under coverage of the femtocell, they switch over from the macrocell (outdoor) to the femtocell automatically. When the user leaves the femtocell coverage (whether in a call or not) area, his phone hands over seamlessly to the macro network.
Femtocells require specific hardware, so existing WiFi or DSL routers cannot be upgraded to a femtocell. Also, once installed in a specific location, most femtocells have protection mechanisms so that a location change will be reported to the MNO.
Femtocells are either under development or commercially available for cdma2000, GSM, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE.
Benefits for users
• “5 bar” coverage when there is no existing signal or poor coverage e.g. rural areas
• Higher mobile data capacity, which is important if the end-user makes use of mobile data on his mobile phone
• Depending on the pricing policy of the MNO, special tariffs at home can be applied for calls placed under femtocell coverage
• For enterprise users, having femtos instead of DECT phones enables them to have a single phone, so a single contact list, etc.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell
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