Coming from NEC Corporation

Dec 3, 2009 13:33 GMT  ·  By

Leading French telecommunications carrier SFR and NEC Corporation announced today that the first solutions from the leading femtocell technology provider have been deployed in France. Through this roll-out, SFR becomes the first wireless carrier to deliver femtocell services throughout the country, the two companies also stated.

The operator started the roll-out of end-to-end femtocell solutions that come with compact indoor femto access points that need to be installed in the customer premises, with a femtocell gateway that serves at the aggregation and connectivity of several access points to the core network, and with the management systems required by the two parts. The installation of access points is a simple process, which only requires the plugging of the device into the broadband router and to the power supply.

According to the duo, the new low-power femto access point is aimed at delivering a dedicated 3G network to users, enhancing coverage and improving the experience the carrier's customers benefit from. Moreover, it will also increase capacity, so that users can benefit from high data rates on their devices, for an enhanced broadband experience. At the same time, the femtocell network is also capable of reducing “CAPEX associated with macro cell equipment and backhaul network OPEX,” while creating new network capacity when needed.

Michel Lignon, president and CEO, NEC France, says “It's been an exciting year for femtocell and we're delighted to be involved in some of the first commercial deployments in Europe and other parts of the world. SFR is one of the first to implement a femtocell network in Europe and we're seeing the technology change the economic and deployment models for networks as well as providing superior levels of service for consumers. This carrier is leading the way and soon we will see the femtocell form part of all operators' core offerings.”

NEC is one of the first companies that delivered complete femtocell solutions to the market, including the femto access point to which users connect directly, and the femtocell gateway for connecting to the network, not to mention the management and provisioning systems.