IP Convergence: Beyond VoIP, Beyond Cost Savings

Femtocells the Answer?

There have been some very interesting developments in the wireless world as of late.  Femtocells are basically Access Point Base Stations that permit wireless operators to extend coverage in places where “dead spots” are problematic.  This sounds like a great idea for those that have experienced the issues where a wireless phone call drops due to one moving into an area where coverage is “shady” at best – for instance an elevator or a remote location in a campus or building.  But with this concept, comes some problems that need to be resolved, like E911, Lawful Intercept and other such governmental obligations.  

First note the informal poll below from www.cellcoverege.com - this is a problem the industry wants to address.

Femtocells have been designed to use licensed and unlicensed wireless spectrum.  In the licensed scenarios, there are concerns around Interference with the already established towers that provide subscriber access.  There are limits to the number of adjacencies that mean special attention needs to be spent with regards to the placement of the femtocells. This concern stems from marketing such solutions direct to the consumer base, and this means a “willy nilly” approach to spectrum access for subscribers causes confusion with regards to E911 and Lawful Intercept requirements that mobile network operators much meet.

Though femtocells are gaining momentum as an alternative, there are concerns that first need to be addressed before an expectation of widespread use can be realized.

DISCLAIMER: The comments here are mine only. They don’t necessarily reflect intelligence, refined thoughts, or anything that the reader should take too seriously. Should the reader expect a polished thought process in the content addressed here, then a strong dose of medication should be prescribed to address that misconception.