out against the solution and inevitably withdraw support
for those services. This draws to the conclusion that, over
time, the carriers that can leverage a combined broadband
and wireless offering will be the most likely to see the
smoothest implementations. Those without really need to
be engineering themselves into a position where they can
offer services as a viable ISP as well as a wireless carrier.
This is easier said than done given that the ISP market is
highly commoditized, and the overheads associated with
supporting the ISP market is something very different than
the comfortable wireless space.
limited areas in Western markets, broadband connection
speeds are far lower than what can be achieved on the wire-
less link from a femtocell. It is quite conceivable that a HS-
DPA radio in a femtocell could be achieving close to 4Mbps
of radio link whilst the DSL will only be reaching just over
1-2 Mbps. Therefore, the services offered on a femtocell
based solution will not be limited by the wireless link but
more often the size of the broadband pipe. What is even
more concerning is the state of the copper lines carrying
the broadband. Service glitches which are common in DSL
will not be warmly welcomed by users that are accustomed
to very robust in-home wireless coverage, thanks to their
brand new shiny femtocells.
has lead to concerns of children's use of Wi-Fi enabled lap-
tops, class action law suits and a general lobbying against
with human life. The question must be asked, what would
the reaction be to having a mini cell tower in your home?
The mind boggles! The reality of the fact is, with current
poor in-home signals, a phone will be transmitting to
maintain its already poor signal much higher than when in
a good signal environment. A femtocell will actually reduce
the impact of radiation. This is further exacerbated by the
fact that WCDMA devices have much more acute receive
sensitivity than Wi-Fi and do not continually broadcast.
The femtocell community must be primed for this back-
lash and must be ready to counter quickly with profound
and reasoned arguments something that the Femto
Forum is an ideal vehicle for.
be doomed to fail. Actually, the fact that these issues are
being raised and are on the radar pays significant homage
to the fact that they will be dealt with in the appropriate
manner at the right time. Moreover, the sheer weight and
momentum being generated by the carrier community will
ensure that the market will pay dividends. What is behind
this momentum? Two things; femtocells will make money
for carriers, by 2012 each femtocell will bring an extra $3,900
to the coffers of the carrier per annum due to either service
and equipment revenues or efficiency savings. Secondly,
the carrier of today is faced with saturated markets where
they need to differentiate and innovate to survive. In a
converged world carriers need to have a sound physical
platform upon which they can build a solution that meets
the evolving demands of the consumer of tomorrow. They
must act now or pass by the wayside as a niche participant
in the multimedia and telecommunications market of the
future. Femtocells offer a way of future proofing a carriers'
offerings in the fixed mobile convergence space.
market for mobile devices. He brings to the task a deep understanding of the critical issues and
technologies, stemming from his immersion in both markets for over decade as both an analyst
and an engineer. Carlaw has been quoted and published in a variety of media outlets and speaks
at high-profile industry events. www.abiresearch.com