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T-Mobile's WiFi vs. femtocell dilemma
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T-Mobile's WiFi vs. femtocell dilemma
Why is T-Mobile investing in a femtocell start-up, while its U.S. subsidiary offers a fixed mobile convergence service that uses a WiFi hotspot at home?
Earlier this week, T-Mobile International's venture arm T-Venture disclosed that last year it participated in a $25 million venture capital round for femtocell start-up Ubiquisys. Google also participated in the round, which closed in July 2007. Since the company launched in 2004 it has raised $37 million in venture capital, but Ubiquisys and T-Mobile will not release the amount the carrier has invested in the start-up or what stake in the company it now holds.
As part of the recent announcement, T-Mobile International announced that it was trialing Ubiquisys' ZoneGate 3G femtocell and hinted that NEC and Nokia Siemens Networks are partners in the trials. According to various reports, the companies are testing the femtocell technology in the Netherlands, Germany and the U.K.
Of course, T-Mobile has not announced plans to test the femtocell technology in the U.S. because it is rolling out a competing fixed mobile convergence solution: its UMA and WiFi-based Hotspot@Home service.
While femtocells could be marketed as a way to increase voice coverage in the home, Ubiquisys, picochip and other start-ups in the femtocell sector focus on the technology's ability to boost 3G signals in the home, thus enabling mobile broadband and data services. Voice coverage is a problem for the U.S. market and not as big of a concern in Europe.
The voice-centric T-Mobile USA Hotspot@Home service certainly edifies that claim. T-Mobile USA provides Hotspot@Home users with either a Linksys or D-Link router that acts as a standalone wireless hub for in the home. Once set-up, calls will automatically route over the WiFi network when available (either at home or when close to another T-Mobile hotspot) and will seamlessly hand off to T-Mobile's network when out of WiFi range.
While the debate over whether Europe is ahead of the U.S. when it comes to mobile broadband deployments saunters on, it's clear that it has the U.S. beat when it comes to the femtocell trend. Fixed mobile convergence looks to be a strict voice play in the U.S. for the coming year: Especially since the carrier with the only disclosed investment in femtocells is only now just beginning to roll out its 3G network. -Brian
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Comments
Posted by tristate | March 7, 2008 - 10:28am
The reason that we cannot do femtocells in the USA is because the FCC is so strict when it comes to licensing and positioning of towers. So T-Mobile USA came up with a product to help in the mean time while they (more than likely) talk to the FCC about allowing femtocells. Which I greatly think will improve the cellular experience in the US, especially in rural areas.
Posted by Dan I | April 17, 2008 - 11:14am
How do you backhaul the femtocell? Does the subscriber have to buy a fixed Internet connection for that?
This femtocell concept doesn't make much sense. If I buy fixed Internet from another ISP to backhail the femtocell, then why do I use the low-bandwidth 3.5G wireless connection when I could use the higher speed fixed Internet connection.
What do I do if I go to my freinds places and they don't have femtocells? Who buys the backhaul and femtocells in those cases? The reason I buy mobile Internet is to have connection avalable everywhere I go.
Thanks,
Dan.
Posted by Jonathan | May 13, 2008 - 1:55pm
The idea of femto is that you use your regular mobile (personal device, address book etc) & lots of people use it as default device even at home but get a low tariff and off load network by you paying for the back haul (via ISP) and not your carrier. It is also supposed to improve patchy urban coverage.
Posted by Jonathan | May 13, 2008 - 1:57pm
I wonder about femto .... would you like to but a mini mobile base station in your living room next to your kids?
Posted by Anonymous | October 6, 2008 - 11:13pm
Femtocell is for the convenience of the service provider, not the user. Aside from the lower bandwidth one gets with femtocell, one must also put up with the incovenience of carrying one's cell phone around the house. I like having a phone in each room with WIFI, and not having to look for the cell phone when I hear it ring in some remote spot.
Posted by Anonymous | June 15, 2009 - 10:23am
As WiFi becomes more prevalent, one would need to carry only a WiFi phone. The other advantage is the one can use the same phone when traveling abroad, as there is a single universal WiFi standard.
Posted by Anonymous | December 22, 2009 - 12:04pm
Who is ahead in femtocell - Europe or the US - that's not the issue.
The number Wi-Fi deployments and wi-fi capable phones have already beaten femtocell to the punch. And wi-fi hardware pricing has a big advantage over femtocell.
Are consumers really going to deploy two different access base stations in their home: femtocell and wi-fi? And pay more to do it?
Anybody remember CT2 and DECT technologies searching for consumers?
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