T-Mobile Venture Fund has made a strategic investment in 3G femto cell manufacturer Ubiquisys, joining Google and original investors Accel Partners, Atlas Venture and Advent Venture Partners.
Femto cells are small consumer devices, the size of a paperback book, that connect to the home broadband connection.
Femto cells also allow operators to more effectively bundle mobile and fixed broadband services, and to differentiate themselves by offering a new generation of web 2.0 mobile applications, based on home presence and sharing data with the home network.
The Ubiquisys femto cell is in mass production with Sony Technium. The units are being used by Ubiquisys' partners such as Nokia Siemens Networks and NEC, to satisfy operator trials worldwide including T-Mobile. This strategic investment supports the drive towards the first commercial launches, anticipated towards the end of 2008.