14 DAY TRIAL // According to the latest news on the Web, US wireless carrier Sprint is set to come to the market with 3G femtocells before any other carrier in the country does so. Recently, AT&T announced that its 3G femtocells would soon enter into a public testing program, and that they would be released commercially before the end of the ongoing year, yet Sprint seems determined to make the move sooner.
“Just like Sprint was the first with 2G, we'll definitely be the first in the 3G space as well,” Mathew Oommen, VP of device and technology development stated, reports Unstrung. “We're not talking about trials; we're talking about full commercial service.” While beating AT&T in this race, Sprint should also be aware of Verizon, it seems, which is determined to boost the coverage in its subscribers' homes too.
The idea of delivering 3G femtocells to the market will offer carriers the possibility to not only boost the voice coverage for their customers but offer them better connectivity when it comes to data as well. This seems to apply to all types of 3G femto, whether HSDPA or CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (in Sprint's case).
Although Oommen says Sprint will deliver the 3G femtocells first, he doesn't unveil any details on the launch date. At the same time, it seems that other details are kept secret as well, including the manufacturer or price tag. Even so, Unstrung notes, he does say that the carrier won't come to the market with a single femtocell, but will also have one meant for enterprises.
For the time being, the only operators that haven't said anything about their plans for releasing a 3G femto are Verizon and T-Mobile, yet it shouldn't be too long before these companies will unveil their plans too. Those to benefit most from the new technology are the consumers, although they will have to pay for the enhancements.