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