RCR Wireless news says ThinkPanmure, a research and banking firm, is reporting AT&T Mobility plans to sell up to 7 million femtocells from ip.access, a picocell and femtocell infrastructure vendor based in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
According to ThinkPanmure, AT&T signed a contract with the firm for up to $500 million in femtocells over the course of five years, and will sell the devices for as little as $100 each.
A spokeswoman for AT&T did not comment on the report specifically; however, she said the nation’s largest carrier is examining the potential benefits of femtocells through lab tests, and plans to conduct a femtocell trial “later this year.” ThinkPanmure said GSM operators will roll out femtocells on a broad scale by next year.
Femtocells are tiny base stations that can be sold to individual phone users for use in homes or offices. Femtocells work much like Wi-Fi hotspots, except they use a wireless carrier’s licensed spectrum.
Thus, femtocells raise a number of potentially troublesome issues for users and carriers, including the management of radio interference between a cell tower and a femtocell; radio interference between different femtocells, such as in an apartment building; and roaming between femtocells. But femtocells can improve indoor coverage.
In September, Sprint was the first carrier in the United States to introduce femtocells with it’s Airave from Samsung for $50 along with a monthly fee.
The product allows users to make unlimited calls over their femtocell connection. It has only available in Denver, Indianapolis and Nashville, according to RCR News.
T-Mobile USA is taking a different tack with dual-mode GSM/Wi-Fi phones that place calls over Wi-Fi network for free.
Related Dailywireless articles include; EdgePoint Femtocell, T-Mobile Expands Hotspot@Home, Ericsson: Wi-Fi is Dead, Dead, Dead, Femto Forum Expands, Sprint; Femocell at Home, Google Invests in Femocell Company, Hotspots for Cellphones and Cable/Sprint Pole Dance.
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