Femtocell

In telecommunications, a 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. 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.

Femtocells are an alternative way to deliver the benefits of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). The distinction is that most FMC architectures require a new (dual-mode) handset which works with existing unlicensed spectrum home/enterprise wireless access points, while a femtocell-based deployment will work with existing handsets but requires installation of a new access point that uses licensed spectrum.

Many operators have launched femtocell service including Vodafone, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, Verizon and Mobile TeleSystems.

In 3GPP terminology, a Home NodeB (HNB) is a 3G femtocell. A Home eNodeB (HeNB) is an LTE femtocell.

Typically the range of a microcell is less than two kilometers wide, a picocell is 200 meters or less, and a femtocell is on the order of 10 meters,1 although AT&T calls its product, with a range of 40 feet (12 m), a "microcell"

Operating mode

Femtocells are awash by a Adaptable Arrangement Operator (MNO) to its residential or action customers. A femtocell is about the admeasurement of a residential aperture or smaller, and connects to the user's broadband line. Integrated femtocells (which accommodate both a DSL router and femtocell) additionally exist. Already acquainted in, the femtocell connects to the MNO's adaptable network, and provides added coverage. From a user's perspective, it is bung and play, there is no specific accession or abstruse ability appropriate — anyone can install a femtocell at home.

In best cases3 the user charge again acknowledge which adaptable buzz numbers are accustomed to affix to his/her femtocell, usually via a web interface provided by the MNO.4 This alone needs to be done once. When these adaptable phones access beneath advantage of the femtocell, they about-face over from the macrocell (outdoor) to the femtocell automatically. Best MNOs accommodate a way for the user to apperceive this has happened, for archetype by accepting a altered arrangement name arise on the adaptable phone. All communications will again automatically go through the femtocell. When the user leaves the femtocell advantage (whether in a alarm or not) area, his buzz easily over seamlessly to the macro network. Femtocells crave specific hardware, so absolute WiFi or DSL routers cannot be upgraded to a femtocell.

Once installed in a specific location, best femtocells accept aegis mechanisms so that a area change will be appear to the MNO. Whether the MNO allows femtocells to accomplish in a altered area depends on the MNO's policy. International area change of a femtocell is not acceptable because the femtocell transmits accountant frequencies which accord to altered arrangement operators in altered countries

Air interfaces

Although abundant of the bartering focus seems to accept been on UMTS, the abstraction is appropriately applicative to all air-interfaces. Indeed, the aboriginal bartering deployment was the cdma2000 Airave in 2007.10

Femtocells are additionally beneath development or commercially accessible for GSM, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE.

The H(e)NB functionality and interfaces are basically the aforementioned as for approved HSPA or LTE abject stations except few added functions. The differences mostly to abutment differences in admission ascendancy to abutment bankrupt admission for residential deployment or accessible admission for action deployment, as able-bodied as handover functionality for alive subscribers and corpuscle alternative procedures for abandoned subscribers. For LTE added functionality was added in 3GPP Release 9 which is abbreviated in

Deployment

According to bazaar Research close Informa and the Femto Forum,19 as of December 2010 18 operators accept launched bartering femtocell services, with a absolute of 30 committed to deployment.

At the end of 2011, femtocell shipments accept accomplished about 2 actor units deployed annually, and the bazaar is accepted to abound rapidly with audible segments for consumer, enterprise, and carrier-grade femtocell deployments.20 Femtocell shipments are estimated to accept accomplished about 2 actor at the end of 2010.21 Research close Berg Insight estimates that the shipments will abound to 12 actor units common in 2014.22

Within the United States, the best cogent deployments up to December 2010 are by Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless. Sprint started in the third division of 2007 as a bound rollout (Denver and Indianapolis) of a home-based femtocell congenital by Samsung Electronics alleged the Sprint Airave that works with any Sprint handset.23 From 17 August 2008, the Airave was formed out on a civic basis. Other operators in the United States accept followed suit. In January 2009 Verizon formed out its Wireless Arrangement Extender, based on the aforementioned architecture as the Sprint/Samsung system.24 In backward March 2010, AT&T appear civic roll-out of its 3G MicroCell, which commenced in April. The accessories is fabricated by Cisco Systems and ip.access, and was the aboriginal 3G femtocell in US, acknowledging both articulation and abstracts HSPA.25 Both Sprint26 and Verizon27 upgraded to 3G CDMA femtocells during 2010, with accommodation for added circumstantial calls and abundant college abstracts rates.

In Asia, several account providers accept formed out Femtocell networks. In Japan, SoftBank Mobile launched its residential 3G femtocell account in January 200928 with accessories provided by Ubiquisys. In the aforementioned year the abettor launched a activity to arrange femtocells to bear alfresco casework in rural environments area absolute advantage is limited.29 In May 2010, SoftBank Mobile launched the aboriginal chargeless femtocell offer,30 accouterment accessible admission femtocells chargeless of allegation to its residential and business customers. In Singapore, Starhub formed out its aboriginal nation-wide bartering 3G Femtocell casework with accessories provided by Huawei Technologies, admitting the uptake is low, while Singtel's alms is targeted at baby average enterprises. In 2009, China Unicom appear its own Femtocell network.31 NTT DoCoMo in Japan launched their own Femtocell account on the 10th November 2009.32

In July 2009 Vodafone appear the aboriginal Femtocell arrangement in Europe,33 the Vodafone Admission Gateway provided by Alcatel-Lucent.34 This was rebranded as SureSignal in January 2010,35 afterwards which Vodafone additionally launched account in Spain, Greece, New Zealand,36 Italy and Ireland.37 Other operators in Europe accept followed back then, with SFR in France 38 with femtocells provided by Ubiquisys and Optimus Telecomunicações, S.A. in Portugal.39