14 DAY TRIAL // Leading provider of 3G femtocells Ubiquisys announced today that the wireless industry could at the moment benefit from commercial femtocells priced under the $100 mark. According to the company, its Femto-Engine system offers hardware makers the possibility to deliver cost-optimized femtocells which are also built according to operator's requirements. At the same time, Ubiquisys notes that the $100 barrier has been a significant point in the adoption of femtocells over the years.
“Operators have long demanded a sub-$100 price point so they can offer femtocells for free,” said Chris Gilbert, CEO Ubiquisys. “Our Femto-Engine system is mobilising a new ecosystem of manufacturers who are fully equipped to meet this demand, and we have already received our first 100,000 unit order using this model.”
Ubiquisys' Femto-Engine system comes with two main components, an operator-proven Femto-Engine software and a mixture of hardware blueprints, operational systems and manufacturing support. The former is meant to make the femtocell ready for real-world deployment, while the latter is meant to enable hardware manufacturers speed up their femtocell production.
According to the company, the Femto-Engine has been built based on its experience in operator testing and deployment on existing networks, including interoperability with various mobile phone models. The company also notes that its solution will offer hardware makers operator experience out-of-the-box, which means that they no longer need to invest in radio systems and software development.
Aditya Kaul, practice director, Mobile Networks at ABI Research, says that “The $100 mark has been a well-recognised psychological barrier for mass-market femtocells, and its crossing could really open the floodgates.” Kaul adds, “The Ubiquisys Femto Engine is an important enabler in the Do-it Yourself (DIY) toolkit for consumer equipment manufacturers. It should allow manufacturers to quickly respond to the growing demand for different femto form factors by reducing some of the complexity involved, and allowing them to focus on their core strengths of high-volume, low-cost and high-quality.”
The G3-mini, delivered by Ubiquisys hardware partner SerComm, is one of the new generation low-cost femtocells. It comes with the latest advancements in the area and can offer performance of eight calls and 14.4/5.7 Mbps data capacity. The femtocell needs less than 5W of power and is only 8cm tall. The solution includes the Ubiquisys Femto-Engine software and is meant for mass-scale deployments on a shared carrier, the company added.