6:00 AM -- Telecom Italia (TIM) is keen on femtocells and is testing equipment from several vendors, according to a report in Electronics Weekly. The Italian operator said there's a lot to like about the small home base stations, but not the price.

Speaking at the International Electronics Forum 2008 in Dubai last week, Luigi Licciardi, executive vice president of Telecom Italia's domestic mobile business, appealed to the semiconductor industry to bring the cost of femtocells down.

Italy will be an interesting market for femtocells where Telecom Italia's dual-mode GSM/WiFi service Unica goes head-to-head with Vodafone Italy 's home zone service. Femtocells could be natural extensions to these services. (See Telecom Italia Dumps UMA for FMC, Telecom Italia Launches FMC, FMC Fusilli, and Italian FMC Face-Off.)— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Unstrung