Femtocell

Radioframe gets $26M in funding for femtocells

Sue Marek — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:52:20 -0400

RadioFrame Networks closed on a $28 million round of Series F financing, bringing it total funding to more than $100 million since 2001.

The vendor, which is backed by such diverse companies as Ericsson Venture, Ignition Partners, VantagePoint Venture Partners and newcomer Plainfield Asset Management, makes picocell and femtocell solutions for operators worldwide. The company has a marketing deal with Nokia Siemens Networks.

In an interview with FierceWireless, RadioFrame CEO Jeff Brown said the company believes the home market is a huge opportunity for femtocells and that's why the company decided to make its own silicon for the femtocell. "We decided we needed a solution for the home and we needed to be able to make it for $100," Brown said. The only way the company could do this was to design low-cost chipsets. Key to RadioFrame's femtocell strategy is having both 2G and 3G GSM solutions. The next-generation silicon will have both LTE and WiMAX.

Brown envisions the femtocell will soon be as commonplace as the handset and thinks they will have a similar distribution channel.

For more:
- See this press release

Related articles:
New chip will target LTE/WiMAX femtocells sector
Nokia Siemens looks to slash femtocell prices

Sprint goes nationwide with Airave femtocell

Sue Marek — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:05:06 -0400

Sprint is expanding its Airave femtocell offering to all customers nationwide and retooling its price plans for the in-home wireless technology. Starting Aug. 17, Sprint customers will be able to purchase the Airave femtocell, which is made by Samsung, at Sprint stores nationwide for $99.99. To get the additional coverage, they must pay an extra $4.99 per month. Customers that do not have an unlimited voice plan, can get unlimited in-home calling from Sprint by subscribing to the optional Airave Unlimited Voice plan for $10 per month for individuals or $20 per month for families.

Sprint is calling the femtocell a "mini cell tower" and positioning it as a competitor to the T-Mobile@Home service which launched in late June. That offering, which costs customers $10 per month, plus the $50 fee for the router, lets customers use WiFi to make calls when in the home and the cellular network when away from the home. The Airave uses Sprint's CDMA network and is compatible with all Sprint CDMA phones, however it won't work with iDEN handsets.

Sprint initially debuted the Airave in two markets--Denver and Indianapolis--last September. At that time, the company charged an additional $15 per month for individuals and $30 per month for subscribers with family plans. The Airave itself cost $49.99 at Sprint stores.

For more:
- see this press release

Related articles:
Sprint launches femtocell service in two markets
T-Mobile offers landline replacement for $10

Sprint's Airave to launch nationwide?

Sue Marek — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:14:52 -0400

Engadget is reporting that Sprint's Airave femtocell will be available nationwide July 15 for $99 plus a monthly rate plan. Sprint first launched the service last September in Denver and Indianapolis. The "Airave" femtocell is a rebranded version of Samsung's Ubicell, and aims to boost cellular coverage for Sprint subscribers while they are at home. Here's what the device looks like: click to see.

For more:
- see this Engadget report

Related story:
Sprint Airave takes on T-Mobile HotSpot at Home

Qualcomm invests in femtocell firm

Sue Marek — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:32:28 -0400

Femtocell and picocell maker ip.access received a financial boost from Qualcomm today. The company joined existing investors Cisco, Intel Capital, ADC, Motorola Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners, Rothschild Gestion and Amadeus Capital Partners to fund ip.access' Oyster 3G femtocell system, which uses the residential broadband connection to deliver a 3G signal in the home. ip.access is rumored to have inked a femtocell deal with AT&T.

Ovum analyst Jeremy Green says that the money Qualcomm is investing in ip.access is not as important as the relationships and influence it yields for the firm. Green adds that while Ovum is still somewhat skeptical about the femtocell business case, Qualcomm's decision to invest in ip.access gives the femtocell proposition more credibility.

This is the second big European announcement from Qualcomm this week. On Monday, the firm announced that it was purchasing a 40 MHz chunk of L-band spectrum, prompting speculation that it was planning to use it to deliver mobile TV service.

For more:
- see this press release

Related stories:
Qualcomm wins U.K. spectrum but coy about plans. See this story about Qualcomm's spectrum win.
T-Mobile invests in femtocell maker. Read this T-Mobile femtocell article.
Rumor: ip.access wins femtocell deal with AT&T. See this article on ip.access and AT&T.

Report: AT&T to offer $100 femtocells

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

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. 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

Verizon Wireless: Femtocells in 2008

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone said at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show last week that the carrier would begin offering femtocell products and service plans sometime this year. The announcement follows a move by Sprint into the femtocell arena. AT&T also is said to be evaluating a femtocell offering.

What remains to be seen is what Verizon will charge for the femtocell device and the service plan. Sprint charges around $50 for the product and $15 per month for service. Verizon's commitment, broader than Sprint's thus far and the only one by a U.S. telco that has both local wireline and wireless networks, may well bring femtocell deployment to its tipping point in the U.S. market. -Lynnette

To read more about Verizon's femtocell plans:
- take a look at this article from AP

Also, check out our recent webinar: Fixed Mobile Convergence:
Are femtocells and UMA/WiFi solutions competitive or complementary?

Related articles:
Sprint formally launches femtocell, Airave Report
Nokia Siemens and Ubiquisys jointly push femtocells Report
Cisco pours cash into U.K. femtocell developer Report
Operators want femtocells Report

T-Mobile CEO on Android, femtocells and more

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

T-Mobile International CEO Hamid Akhavan said that the carrier's MyFaves offering now has 5.2 million customers in U.S. "We believe that we have found the pulse of community," Akhavan said. There are already more than a quarter million MyFaves users in Europe five weeks after it launched, he added. T-Mobile offers 35 different handsets that support MyFaves.

Akhavan also announced that T-Mobile Austria will carry Apple's iPhone during the first half of the year and that a few other T-Mobile carriers across the globe will get the handset soon. What's more, T-Mobile plans to debut its first device based on Google's Android operating system during the fourth quarter of 2008.

An audience member asked Akhavan why T-Mobile wanted to launch a device running an unproven operating system like Android. Akhavan replied: "That's the dilemma of innovation--someone always has to be first." The CEO explained that a good operating system takes years to develop, but Android's progress is very encouraging and could make Android a groundbreaking platform. Android "kicks the web'n'walk experience [up] to the next level."

T-Mobile has also updated roaming for its Web'n'walk mobile Internet offering in Europe: Now all European users can roam onto other European carriers' networks and maintain the same service price. Akhavan said the carrier plans to introduce a data cap on such usage, but it won't come out until later in 2008. It won't be a "bill shock for any customer," Akhavan promised.

Akhavan also teased the audience with an upcoming LTE and femtocell announcement: "Come to CeBit, I promise we'll impress you," he said. T-Mobile has been working on femtocells for quite some time, but the carrier is stumped on monetization of femtocell services more so than any technological aspects. Akhavan said to expect the first commercial femtocells during the second half of 2008. -Brian and Jason

ALSO NOTED: Financial services; FMC, femtocells and WiFi; and more...

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:59:50 -0500

> Mobile financial services ramped up this year as banks launched their own applications for the mobile phones, carriers launched payment services, some players got acquired and even Google filed a patent for such a mobile payment service.

> The fixed-mobile convergence sector also saw its first big carrier launches in 2007: Sprint's Airave femtocell launch and T-Mobile USA's Hotspot @ Home service were the most notable launches for the U.S.

And Finally... Here is our most popular Web slideshow of the year. Our walkthrough of Google's Android OS. SlideShow

Motorola completes femtocell trial

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

Motorola completed a femtocell trial with an unnamed European wireless operator. The company said that it was able to provide a fully integrated and tested solution based on open standards interfaces. The trial included customer premises equipment and 3G devices, as well as a core network concentrator, systems integration services and CPE management.

Of course, Motorola isn't the first company to complete a femtocell trial or offer a femtocell solution. In September, Sprint debuted a femtocell service using CDMA in Denver and Indianapolis. The solution, called Airave, uses equipment from Samsung.

For more:
- see this press release for more details

See these related stories:
Sprint launches femtocell service in two markets. Story
Sorting Through The Femtocell Fray. Story

Alltel's WiFi deals point to FMC?

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

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Does Alltel's WiFi deal point to FMC plans?

This week Alltel inked a significant deal that will bring WiFi services to its subscribers. The carrier announced a white label deal with Sky Dayton's Boingo Wireless that will give Alltel subscribers access to Boingo's nationwide network of WiFi hotspots. The deal could be indicative of the carrier's future plans for fixed-mobile convergence in the home.

Like T-Mobile USA before it, Alltel's move to offer WiFi services via hotspots could lead to a service like T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home. The UMA-based T-Mobile service lets users handoff calls to their home WiFi routers to save their cellular minutes and to improve coverage in the home. Now that Alltel has the Boingo deal in place and plans for an EVDO/WiFi unlimited package, offering UMA phones is probably the next step.

One increasingly popular alternative to the UMA/WiFi fixed-mobile convergence play is a femtocell in the home. These mini-basestations typically plug into a subscriber's home routers and increase the oft weak cellular signal at home. Femtocells seem to be a more attractive option for carriers with stronger 3G network deployments, since future femtocells will be 3G-enabled and encourage mobile content consumption while at home. Carriers with little to no 3G coverage at present seem to be going the route of UMA/WiFi-based solutions instead of the femtocell.

That certainly seems to be the case for T-Mobile USA. So why does Alltel, with its substantial EVDO footprint, need a WiFi deal with Boingo? Is it a stop-gap for the carrier as it builds out its EVDO network?

According to a recent Current Analysis report, the Boingo deal gives Alltel more of a level playing field in comparison to AT&T and Sprint who offer WiFi access, but have not combined it with 2.5G/3G access in a bundle. The research group says that Alltel now compares more favorably against Verizon Wireless, who has not been active in the U.S. WiFi market. Current sees the move as one largely benefiting the "road warrior."

Regardless of its motives, Alltel now has a network of WiFi hotspots at its disposal. So it may want to heed femtocell proponents, who point out that a UMA/WiFi FMC solution requires new handsets. They also claim WiFi drains a device's battery life far quicker than a femtocell's cellular signal will. So femtocell or WiFi? What's it going to be Alltel?Ã‚Â -Brian

P.S. Come join us for the now legendary Fierce party at CTIA I.T. and Entertainment, a Union Affair. RSVP

Behold, the not-necessarily-mobile phone

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

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Behold, the not-necessarily-mobile phone

Last year the wireless industry added a new set of words to its lexicon: Femtocell, picocell, ubicell and so on and just this week U.S. mobile users began purchasing these "in-home cell towers."Ã‚Â Sprint announced on Monday that its subscribers in Indianapolis, Denver and Nashville (soon)Ã‚Â can now purchase a femtocell--which the carrier calls an Airave--and a corresponding service plan. The Airave (photo)Ã‚Â is a rebranded version of Samsung's Ubicell, and aims to boost cellular coverage for Sprint subscribers while they are at home.

Sprint's latest offering drew comparisons to T-Mobile's recently launched FMC service, and for good reason: Hotspot@Home makes use of UMA technology to port a user's cellular calls over WiFi while at home. Femtocells and UMA are competing as well as complementary ways to achieve FMC and boost cellular signals. The key difference is that femtocells make use of standard cellular signals, while UMA uses cellular-to-WiFi hand-off. Sprint has clearly decided on the femtocell route, while T-Mobile USA is putting its weight behind UMA.Ã‚Â

That's not to say that UMA and femtocells are mutually exclusive, however. Kineto Wireless, the original developer of the UMA standard, has been working with Ubiquisys and Netgear on femtocells that make use of UMA as a backhaul solution. So it seems that at least for now, there's plenty of room for both technologies in the FMC space.

Offering a solution that makes it easier to use one's mobile phone in the home makes sense for T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel, since neither depends on landline voice service revenues like rivals AT&T and Verizon. One has to wonder though what comes next for these carriers, if they succeed in gaining traction in the home through a femtocell or UMA-enabled router. Will last year's predictions of IPTV-slinging femtocells prove prescient? Or are femtocells and UMA merely blips on the long road to fixed-mobile convergence?

Let me know if you think these recent FMC offerings are game-changers, now that the mobile phone is no longer just for the road. It works (much more consistently) right from your living room couch. -Brian

Sprint formally launches femtocell, Airave

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Last month we reported on a rumor that claimed Sprint would launch its femtocell service in Q1 of next year, but it turns out the carrier has launched the service for subscribers in Denver and Indianapolis today. The "Airave" femtocell is a rebranded version of Samsung's Ubicell, and aims to boost cellular coverage for Sprint subscribers while they are at home. Here's what the device looks like (click to enlarge):

While Sprint is not counting any of the minutes an Airave-equipped customer uses at home against the subscriber's calling minutes, the service costs an additional $15 per month for individuals and $30 per month for subscribers with family plans. The Airave itself costs $49.99 at Sprint stores. The service will expand throughout the Denver and Indianapolis areas and will be launching in Nashville soon. Expect a nationwide launch early next year.

For more on the Airave:
- read the press release

European voice ARPU continues to fall

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

According to a report from Analysys, the majority of Western European carriers have seen total ARPU decline because of decreasing voice ARPU. While voice ARPU will continue to decline, overall ARPU will pick up thanks to data services and other non-voice services. Voice ARPU is projected to decrease from about $49 now to about $45.50 by 2011.

"However, voice ARPU could stabilise or even recover slightly from 2011 onwards if operators can be more aggressive in migrating voice minutes from fixed to mobile via the help of femtocell solutions," said Analysys analyst Emma Buckland.

For more on the report:
- read this press release