Femtocells: Developers co-op on dual-mode HSPA/LTE femto design

Two of Europe's leading wireless design houses have signed a frame agreement to develop jointly a dual-mode protocol stack solution for LTE/HSPA femtocells.

Munich-based Nomor Research and Node-H, who have experience in LTE and HSPA femtocells respectively, said they have decided to co-develop a dual-mode solution as the deployment of LTE within Europe gathers pace. However, both firms recognise that HSPA is fast becoming a dominant wireless technology in Europe, and there will be a need for femtocells to support this air interface for many years regardless of the rollout timescales for LTE.

Commenting on the agreement, Mike Cronin, CEO of Node-H, said that he wanted to make it easy for operators to add LTE to their femtocell rollout by the seamless integration of HSPA and LTE. "High-volume residential deployment is the ultimate goal, and, by co-operating with Nomor closely, we have the know-how to bring this technology to market in the shortest possible time frame."

Commenting on the benefits of the deal, Eiko Seidel, CTO of Nomor Research, said working with Node-H would allow them to deliver software for an LTE/HSPA dual-mode femtocell at the earliest possible stage.

"But just as important, the partnership permits us to safeguard the required cost savings with respect to development of low-cost femtocells that support both technologies."

The companies said that femtocells using their dual-mode software would be connected via the standardised Iu-h interface for HSPA and the S1 interface for LTE Evolved Packet Core.

For more:
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