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haim

2:03 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Hmmm sounds like a sly move to save money on new cell towers by the networks. Let users buy these, and utilise they're broadband connections to get coverage out to new areas.

Conspiracy I say!!

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Chris

2:52 PM on 28 August, 2009

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... or it lets coverage extend to areas where it wouldn't be econimically viable for the networks to cover. It's probably a bit of both.

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b166er

3:11 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Yeah, I ain't buyin' it. This should come free with your mobile if you live in a rural area as I do. My mobile HAS to be on the window sill for me to get a signal.

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Ben

3:13 PM on 28 August, 2009

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All sounds very awesome but I can't imagine for a minute that the mobile networks will allow it. Hence HSL trying to drum up the publicity.

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Chris

3:19 PM on 28 August, 2009

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@Ben: Er, why wouldn't they allow it? Surely it's all good news for the networks. Their coverage will be extended and they barely have to lift a finger.

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Geoff Richards

3:23 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Why exactly would they not "allow" it? It will potentially unlock a bunch more revenue for them by facilitating heavier use of handsets that otherwise are hamstrung by bad reception.

Bear in mind this is not some sort of cheapo VOIP routing solution, therefore dodging call costs on the normal mobile network. It is simply enabling a handset to connect to an operator's network via cabled Internet infrastructure, rather than wireless towers as normal.

I think it's sounds like a good solution for those with patchy coverage, as long as it doesn't impact broadband performance too much.

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Chris

3:30 PM on 28 August, 2009

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In fact, if I pay my own money for one of these and it's attached to my ADSL line (which I pay for) then I want a discount off any calls I make through it, thank you very much. Surely that's only fair :)

Not likely though.

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Geoff Richards

3:35 PM on 28 August, 2009

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You say that though, Chris, but once the call gets from your ISP to O2 / Vodafone / Orange etc, the rest of the work / cost is still there. So yes, you are saving them the cost of installing a tower next to your house, but not much else. So maybe only half the discount :)

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MadMacs

3:44 PM on 28 August, 2009

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I think this is a great idea :) where do I buy shares?! lol

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hankb6d

3:48 PM on 28 August, 2009

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The tech is leaving me behind - a new word, FEMTOCELL to remember, article left me dissapointed I was highly excited with the picture of a electronic tampon dispenser.

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DavidBrophy

4:51 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Does this handle incoming calls too?

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Gordon394

6:11 PM on 28 August, 2009

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@ David Brophy - yes, it simply improves reception by creating your own mini cell for your home or office. There is full call/data/text functionality.

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Geoff Richards

6:11 PM on 28 August, 2009

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A femtocell just extends a network's coverage (over IP, as it happens) and everything else should function as normal ie the phone doesn't know any different. Voice, SMS, MMS, data... all the same as if you were outside with "real" reception :)

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Gordon394

6:11 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Hah, double response!

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Beaky69

6:14 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Is it 'locked' to your own mobile(s), or would neighbours benefit from your investment (and bandwidth)?!

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Chris

6:38 PM on 28 August, 2009

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@Beaky69: Good question, I was just wondering that. You'd think it wouldn't be too hard for the thing to store a list of permitted IMEI or SIM card numbers, much like wireless routers can keep a permitted MAC address list.

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Floriank

8:25 PM on 28 August, 2009

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I think if you use Vodafone's own branded unit you need to register up to 4 mobiles with them and they get enabled for your own Femtocell. I guess otherwise all your neighbours would hang off it too.

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CM

10:35 PM on 28 August, 2009

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Been waiting for this! have to move house every year and once again find myself living with absolutely NO reception. Hurry up and launch... Cornwall needs you.

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Beaky69

11:09 AM on 29 August, 2009

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Presumably there's the potential for added latency if the system uses a broadband connection? Hope it doesn't end up like a satellite phone conversation in use...

@Caedmon: If you're moving fairly frequently & living to rural areas, might you have difficulty getting broadband access too?

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OldTimer

1:02 PM on 29 August, 2009

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"should dramatically improve 3G dongle performance, meaning light users can scale back on the size (and therefore cost) of their broadband packages."

The data still goes over your Broadband connection so how would this work?

However the thought of perfect signal for voice is much more attractive to me than using VoIP, especially as most of my calls are incoming. I'll get one as soon as Orange support it.

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Gordon394

1:21 PM on 29 August, 2009

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@OldTimer - Because they won't need their 8Mbit/16Mbit etc packages, 2Mbit should be fine. It's not about data, it's about speed.

It's an exciting sector and while the argument is signal quality is entirely in the responsibility of the networks in reality a perfect signal everywhere is impossible and it is nice to be able to put some control back in your own hands.

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Martin Daler

7:46 PM on 29 August, 2009

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@ Geoff Richards - I would doubt this will unlock any revenue for the mobile networks. I don't see this device appealing to people on PAYG. People who use their mobile any amount tend to be on a contract, so they have paid for their usage whether they make the calls or not. I suppose they might garner a little extra incoming call revenue - isn't that where the whole rip-off mobile call cost derives from - but mostly they will just enable contract users to wring more value from their existing spend.

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CM

10:15 PM on 29 August, 2009

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@Beaky69 Broadband seems less of an issue... although it's seldom faster than 1.5Mbit so lets hope the "Femtocell" doesn't need too much bandwidth!

On that point, have they specified a minimum connection speed?

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Geoff Richards

11:28 PM on 29 August, 2009

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@Martin - that's a fair point actually. Of course, additional coverage might encourage heavier use, resulting in them upgrading their contract to more minutes / more cost... :)

@Caedmon - I don't believe there has been any mention of minimum speed. For voice calls, one could suppose whatever Skype uses would be a good starting point (64kbit minimum, from what I could uncover). However, don't forget this box supports up to 7 simultaneous calls, so it all adds up in an office environment.

If we get a sample for review, I'm sure all will be revealed.

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Ben

12:30 AM on 30 August, 2009

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The mobile operators love to control as much of what happens with their customers as possible. I'm not sure why they'd let a third party sell devices that 'extend' their networks when they could make more money, and supposedly guarantee a certain level of service, by providing the kit themselves.

Don't get me wrong, I want a femtocell that I can set up for O2 or whatever and this kit looks good, but the MNOs are so protective over their networks that I think getting agreements for this will be, well, difficult.

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WJA

9:03 AM on 30 August, 2009

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It looks great, I think the issue will be for international. I would love to plug this in when I go to USA, or ditto when friends come over from USA

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OldTimer

7:31 PM on 30 August, 2009

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@Gordon - Because they won't need their 8Mbit/16Mbit etc packages, 2Mbit should be fine. It's not about data, it's about speed.

I still struggle to see the point you are making, surely if they don't need that capacity then they'll just drop their speed anyway? Not sure how this device changes that?

I do agree it is totally impossible for the networks to provide blanket coverage without ramping up their transmitters to possibly dangerous levels. Femtocells are going to grow in usage. However the network contracts are the issue and so far Vodafone are the only ones to get their act together on this.

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