Femto Forum to
promote standards
deployment
A group of global mobile operators and femtocell
equipment vendors formed The Femto Forum, an inde-
pendent organization, to promote femtocell deployment
worldwide.
The group is also focused on addressing several key
technical issues, including radio planning and control,
provisioning and management and device-to-core
network connectivity.
As the core network technology behind a growing
number of large-scale, dual-mode handset deployments,
the 3GPP UMA standard is now being recognized as the
de-facto standard for device-to-core network connectivity
in the femtocell market as well.
A recent study from ABI Research forecasts that there
will be 150 million users of femtocell products on 36
million access points worldwide by 2012.
"The femtocell market holds tremendous promise for
mobile operators," said Stuart Carlaw, research director
with ABI Research. "Device-to-core network connectivity
is a challenge that the Femto Forum and the market
must overcome; UMA may play a key role in speeding
femtocell deployment timelines."
Ubiquisys, kineto Complete
interoperability Testing
Ubiquisys Ltd., and Kineto Wireless announced the
companies have successfully completed interoperability
testing between the Ubiquisys ZoneGate 3G Femtocell and
Kineto's UMA Network Controller (UNC).
The testing is important for mass-market deployment of
femtocells. It also demonstrates several key advantages of
using UMA as the core network integration approach for
femtocells, including enabling mobile operators to leverage
their existing core networks through standard interfaces to
support femtocell deployments, as well as enabling seam-
less access to all existing core network services
using standard 3G handsets.
"We've always recognized that the
key to reliable and cost-effective
mass market femtocell deployment
is the adoption of a standardized interface between access
point and network," said Will Franks, founder and CTO of
Ubiquisys.
"It is great to see the mobile industry coalescing around
UMA as an optimal architecture for femtocell deployment,"
he adds. "UMA is tried and tested in the field and provides
an efficient 3GPP standards-based protocol for network
integration."
T-Mobile launches dual-Mode
handset service
T-Mobile USA, Inc., announced the launch of HotSpot @Home
SM
, the first U.S.
dual-mode handset service deployment based on UMA technology and designed
to provide people with one phone for all their in-home and mobile calling needs.
HotSpot @Home combines the power of Wi-Fi with T-Mobile's nationwide voice
and data network. Customers enjoy great mobile coverage and unlimited domestic
calling from home and T-Mobile HotSpot locations across US over Wi-Fi.
T-Mobile executives have reported that customer uptake has exceeded
expectations. "More people than ever are looking to drop their home landline
phone and pocket the savings. However, they don't want to use all their wireless
minutes talking from home. Our new service solves this dilemma once and for all,"
said Robert Dotson, president and CEO, T-Mobile USA.
The service was introduced with two HotSpot phones -- the Samsung t409
and the Nokia 6086 and standard Wi-Fi routers optimized for voice manufactured
by D-Link and Linksys.
HEADLINES
04
UMA TodAY
FALL 2007