StarHub Releasing Home Zone, the First Commercial 3G Femtocell Service

Since it is the first such service ever launched, Home Zone is surely going to be quickly tried out by all users who are given the opportunity to do so. Naturally, good or bad, we might as well brace ourselves to hear plenty more about it in the first days or weeks of release.

Well, this can only mean the best of news for hubbers, who can now use the 3G femtocell, which represents a portable access device for mobiles, to connect their 3G phone directly to the MaxOnline-enabled router. Thus, they get the possibility to place video and voice calls. In addition, this service can be used for sending SMS messages over StarHub's network.

Moreover, StarHub is making sure that users will be enjoying low costs should they be making frequent calls and sending SMSes from home, so that their bill will not be overcharged. So far, it looks like hubbers will be getting only benefits from this new service, and no downsides whatsoever.

Head of Mobile and Communications, StarHub, Anil Nihalani, stated the following regarding the new service and the advantages it brings, "As the operator that frequently delivers new innovations to the Singapore market, we see tremendous potential in the 'Home Zone' service which uses the 3G femtocell technology. While services such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) have been available for some years, these are restricted to VoIP-enabled mobile phones. The beauty of the 3G femtocell technology is that all 3G-enabled phones are supported and customers do not need to purchase special handsets to take advantage of it".

Another, just as important, feature this service brings is the one regarding the white-list numbers, which translates into three numbers each user can add to a list and that can use the same Home Zone connection at the same time for calls or messages, benefitting from equally low prices.

"The 'Home Zone' service demonstrates the true benefits of hubbing with StarHub. By extending the ability to use the 'Home Zone' service to immediate family members, hubbing families who are our 3G mobile and MaxOnline customers, will be able to get more out of it with better cost-savings and convenience," Nihalani said about this interesting option.