Indoor Coverage

3G at 900MHz - the benefits revealed

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:53:43 -0400

European operators could benefit significantly from being allowed to provide 3G services in the 900Mhz band, according to a study conducted by the GSA. The organisation found that a review of the cost and coverage benefits made by the Australian 3G operator Optus from being able to at 900MHz were significant.

Optus claims its ability to use the 900MHz band provides it with a much larger geographical coverage area when compared to what is possible when using 2100 MHz--a spectrum widely used in Europe. When HSPA is deployed, Optus maintains the use of the lower frequency band translates directly into major Capex and Opex savings.

According to Andrew Smith, director of mobile core engineering for Optus, 900Mhz opens the door to a much larger data market because it provides better indoor coverage than 2100MHz. "UMTS900 is ideally suited for Australia. The extended reach of this frequency means we can deliver better quality and wider coverage across sparsely populated areas, as well as enhanced depth of coverage."

Smith added that the Optus network, which is the largest UMTS900 network in the world, gained from its ability to use existing infrastructure. "We had previously completed significant changes to our antennas, so with UMTS900, we could walk into a site knowing limited external work was needed, which allowed for a much faster deployment."

The GSA claims the 10 UMTS900-HSPA systems in commercial service in Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific are benefiting from a rapidly increasing choice of 900MHz devices from 23 manufacturers.

For more on this story:
Cellular News

Femtocells: Vodafone sets the pace with European launch

Paul Rasmussen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:35:08 -0400

European operators have been left in Vodafone's wake following the surprise announcement that the company will launch a commercial femtocell service in Europe as early as 1 July.

This move, which follows numerous femtocell trials by Vodafone, is a significant boost for the technology which was in danger of stagnation as operators repeatedly delayed commercial deployments. However, the company has stolen the initiative from other operators, such as O2 and T-Mobile, that had seemed to be making the most progress with femtocell trials and commercial pilots.

Interestingly, Vodafone plans to offer no femto-specific applications, with the intent being simply to improve indoor coverage at this stage. Also of note is the selection of Alcatel-Lucent as the femtocell supplier, one of the more prominent Tier 1 wireless vendors to offer its own devices rather than badging those of a specialist supplier, which will boost the hopes of the silicon developer picoChip, which also supplies the chipset for ip.access and others femtocell vendors. Vodafone has used equipment from several femtocell vendors for trials

Labelled the Vodafone Access Gateway, the femtocell will be available in stores and online from 1 July. The router-sized box plugs into the broadband line to create a homezone, and can can be used by up to four standard handsets or other 3G devices at one time. The Gateway is available for free, depending on the subscribers data plan, with options from £15 ($24) a month. It can also be purchased upfront, with no commitment, for £160, or on a monthly charge from £5.

For more on this story:
Rethink Wireless and Total Telecom

3 selects repeaters to improve in-building 3G data coverage

Paul Rasmussen — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:12:09 -0500

In an effort to improve in-building 3G data coverage, 3 Ireland has selected repeaters it claims will work in harmony with the company's 3G wireless network. The units, developed by US-based Nextivity, will form part of Ireland's Nation Broadband Scheme which aims to provide high-speed broadband services to all areas of the country by 2010.

Nextivity claims its Smart repeaters provide an in-building solution at a lower cost than using femtocells, and are specifically designed to complement the existing macro network with automatic, real-time gain adjustment. Nextivity CEO, Werner Sievers, said, "Our Smart repeater technology is designed to overcome the most demanding indoor coverage challenges and increase the effective RF capacity of each base station."

Key to the Smart repeater product would seem to be a baseband processor designed to optimise the indoor capabilities of 3G by using filtering, equalisation and echo cancellation techniques. Over 20 European operators are said by Nextivity to be trialling the Smart repeater device, which the company maintains can be installed in minutes.

Late last year, T-Mobile Netherlands said it had selected Nextivity's repeater technology in a pilot trial to improve the data coverage in its retail outlets throughout The Netherlands.

For more on this story:
3G.co.uk

Related stories:
French operator to deploy GSM femtocells
2008 Year in Review: All hype and no action on femtocells
Verizon femtocell to go on sale Jan. 25
Femto Forum Announces Results of Femtocell Interference Research

Mobilkom Austria pilots femtocells for residential and SoHo

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:15:23 -0500

Another European operator has gone public with its intent to use femtocells to improve 3G coverage for both residential and business users. Mobilkom Austria has selected 35 customers to trial the service until mid-2009, to be followed shortly by the commercial launch.

Apart from residential users, the company has named the hotel chain Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts der Verkehrsbüro Group, and the Vienna ARZ computing centre as among the first customers within the pilot project to use femtocells to improve their indoor coverage. Hannes Ametsreiter, CMO Mobilkom Austria, said this was the first femtocell pilot project with real customers in Central Europe, and would look to prove that quick and secure indoor network coverage could be provided using this particular technology.

The pilot would be run using two different femtocells, both provided by Huawei. One model is aimed at the residential market to provide connectivity for up to four mobile phones or data cards, while the second is aimed at the SoHo market providing connections for up to 16 users.

For more on this story go to:
Telecoms.com

Related articles:
T-Mobile unveils 3G/WiFi docking station (femtocell?)
Femtocell developer considers offering gateway device

T-Mobile pilots femtocells in Germany

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:12:24 -0400

Cologne and Bonn are the two German cities that T-Mobile has selected to test the commercial feasibility of 3G femtocells. The operator will be the first to conduct trials of the technology in Germany, albeit that numerous trials have already taken place elsewhere in Europe.

While T-Mobile demonstrated femtocells at the giant CeBIT exhibition earlier this year, this trial is aimed at testing how consumers react to the plug-and-play characteristics of femtocells. "Having achieved positive feedback from earlier tests, we are now continuing to explore the area of deep indoor coverage," said Guenther Ottendorfer, director of network technology at T-Mobile Deutschland.

In March of this year the T-Mobile Venture Fund said it had made a strategic investment in Ubiquisys, a developer of 3G femtocells, joining Google and original investors Accel Partners, Atlas Venture and Advent Venture Partners. T-Mobile has not said if this latest trial in Germany uses devices provided by Ubiquisys.

For more on this story:
- go to Total Telecom

Related stories:
T-Mobile invests in femtocell maker. Femtocell story
T-Mobile plans femtocell trials. European femtocell story

Strong consumer interest in Femtocells

Paul Rasmussen — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:47:24 -0400

Despite being almost unknown outside of wireless technology circles, European consumers have expressed a strong interest in acquiring a femtocell to boost indoor 3G reception.

According to a survey of 1,800 mobile and internet users in Poland, Spain, Italy, France, UK and Germany, over 40 per cent said they would definitely or probably plan to make a purchase in the next 12 months after the benefits of improved coverage, improved call quality and lower voice call charges were explained.

The survey, sponsored by Motorola, found that Poland had the highest potential rate of early femtocell adopters with 67 per cent planning to purchase a box, followed by Spain with 62 per cent, Italy with 61 per cent, France and the UK both with 34 per cent, and Germany with 33 per cent. Germany's stance is particularly interesting, given that the country already has very good indoor coverage for 3G, perhaps weakening the potential for femtocells.

However, femtocell technology would appear to be evolving in capability, which may lay the groundwork for greater awareness and potential adoption. Motorola found that femtocells were viewed as an extension to the family media environment, with 51 per cent of respondents interested in a 'family plan' that allowed various members of a household to connect to the femtocell.

Separately, Comcast has announced its intention to pursue WiMAX femtocells as a key to its wireless strategy given that the new Clearwire deal calls for 5 MHz of spectrum across the US to be set aside solely for WiMAX femtocells.

For more on this story:
- go to telecoms.com and Light Reading

Related stories:
Qualcomm invests in femtocell maker ip.access. Qualcomm investment story
Nokia Siemens looks to slash femtocell prices. NSN femtocell story
Femtocells--big market, bigger questions. Editorial