Ubiquisys

Company name: Ubiquisys
Where it's based: Swindon, England
When it was founded: 2004
Year it was a Fierce 15: 2008
Website: www.ubiquisys.com

Why it was a Fierce 15: Ubiquisys, the founder of the Femto Forum, demonstrated a fully working femtocell solution in 2006. A year later, it unveiled a commercial-grade femtocell system. The strength of the company's offer sat in its ZoneGate access point, which could plug into a user's existing broadband gateway. The ZoneGate also integrated seamlessly with an operator's core network using standards such as UMA. Click here for more.

What has happened since it was awarded the Fierce 15: In December 2008, Ubiquisys announced a 3G femtocell deployment with Softbank in Japan. The company is working with numerous other operators around the world, and commercial launches are planned for later this year. Ubiquisys also has pioneered an enterprise femtocell system. Rumors popped up in late July that the company was considering exiting the femtocell manufacturing business. However, in August, Ubiquisys raised $11 million to prepare for a raft of large-scale commercial deployments it claimed will begin later this year. The company also recently joined with the WiFi community, FON, to offer like-minded users spare 3G capacity within a secure and shared environment.