According to a report from ThinkPanmure, AT&T has inked a $500 million deal with ip.access for 7 million femtocells, which it plans to sell to its subscribers for about $100. While AT&T would not comment directly on the reports, a spokesperson did note that the carrier plans to conduct a femtocell trial later this year. Femtocells are similar to WiFi routers in that they make use of a users high speed data connection at home, but differ in that they make use of carrier's licensed spectrum. Sprint has already launched a femtocell from Samsung that it calls the Airave [1]. The unit costs about $50 and requires a monthly fee. The ThinkPanmure report predicts that GSM carriers will rollout femtocells next year.
For more on the report:
- read this RCR article [2]
Related Articles:
Sprint launches femtocell service in two markets [3]
T-Mobile plans femtocell trials in Europe [4]
Femtocells face their tipping point [5]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-airave-takes-t-mobile-hotspot-home/2007-08-17
[2] http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080424/FREE/895619934/1014/rss01
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/sprint-customers-select-areas-denver-and-indianapolis-get-airave-enhanced-home-covera
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/t-mobile-plans-femtocell-trials/2008-01-21
[5] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/femtocells-face-their-tipping-point/2008-04-04