Nokia Siemens Networks has launched a 3G femtocell and a gateway to allow operators to manage multiple femtocells in subscribers’ homes.
However, the company looks likely to stay outside the femto industry body, the newly-launched Femto Forum.
Femtocells sit in customers’ homes and offices, and provide 3G voice and data indoors, using the customer’s own broadband to connect to the operator’s network. They should be no more difficult to install than any broadband SOHO gateway, Nokia says, and will include other features such as wi-fi, Ethernet ports and storage.
“Our novel Femto Home Access solution meets what the market really needs,” says Ari Lehtoranta, head of Radio Access at Nokia Siemens Networks. “It is a strong combination of telecommunications end-to-end expertise, femto cell know-how and consumer mass market understanding,” he says. No major operator has yet announced plans to deliver a femto-based service. The Femto Forum hopes to create an ecosystem that will encourage them to do so.