25 November, 2009 15:03
The operator is marketing the service nationally as a solution for people with poor network coverage – with a full price of €199, plus a range of other tariff options.
Will Franks, Founder and CTO of Ubiquisys, said that the operator regarded the launch as a “significant” strategic initiative.
Franks was unable to comment on the volumes Ubiquisys expects to ship, but did say that he thought the company had won the supplier contract on the back of its technical expertise.
“The radio technology has to be very good,” he said. “Operators such as Vodafone UK which had a free carrier can use something less sophisticated, but operators on shared carriers, as most of them are, need something that will not give them interference in the macro network.”
Franks also said that the Ubiquisys is able to provide knowledge of how a femtocell will act in a “real” network – citing the femtocell’s support for 150 handsets.
“There are issues around how different handsets behave when they come into contact with the cells, and how a cell deals with handovers. How does a femtocell handle rejections and closed groups?” Franks queried.
Franks said that he expected to see more announcements following across Europe in the femtocell area, as he knows of operators in commercial pilots right now, and some already in non-publicised commercial operation with key customers. Massively rising data traffic (AT&T has seen a 5000% rise in three years), and the increased signaling load it generates would drive more operators to consider solutions such as femtocells, he said.
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Ubiquisys wins SFR femto deal
Says not all femtocells are created equal
SFR has announced the commercial launch of a nationwide femtocell service, using femtocells from Ubiquisys. The announcement was part of a series of launches the operator made yesterday, including the launch of satellite internet services, Vodafone 360 services and a music streaming service.The operator is marketing the service nationally as a solution for people with poor network coverage – with a full price of €199, plus a range of other tariff options.
Will Franks, Founder and CTO of Ubiquisys, said that the operator regarded the launch as a “significant” strategic initiative.
Franks was unable to comment on the volumes Ubiquisys expects to ship, but did say that he thought the company had won the supplier contract on the back of its technical expertise.
“The radio technology has to be very good,” he said. “Operators such as Vodafone UK which had a free carrier can use something less sophisticated, but operators on shared carriers, as most of them are, need something that will not give them interference in the macro network.”
Franks also said that the Ubiquisys is able to provide knowledge of how a femtocell will act in a “real” network – citing the femtocell’s support for 150 handsets.
“There are issues around how different handsets behave when they come into contact with the cells, and how a cell deals with handovers. How does a femtocell handle rejections and closed groups?” Franks queried.
Franks said that he expected to see more announcements following across Europe in the femtocell area, as he knows of operators in commercial pilots right now, and some already in non-publicised commercial operation with key customers. Massively rising data traffic (AT&T has seen a 5000% rise in three years), and the increased signaling load it generates would drive more operators to consider solutions such as femtocells, he said.
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