Handsets need to know about their femtocells

Michelle Donegan

July 30, 2008

1 Min Read
Wanted: Femto-Aware Devices

1:40 PM -- A new report from Dean Bubly at Disruptive Analysis Ltd. brings up a rather awkward point for future femtocell services. Bubly argues that certain changes in handsets will have to be made so that they will work better with the home base stations. (See Operators Feel Femto Frustration.)

For early 3G femto services, 3G-capable handsets won't need any changes. But to get to future femtozone home networking services, where certain applications are available when phones come into range of the femtocell, Bubly finds that handsets will need to be "aware" of the femtocell at the radio and application level. And today's 3G handsets are not optimized in that way. This is no surprise to the femto community, and it's mentioned a few times on this industry blog. But is anyone actually working on these handset changes with device makers?

— Michelle "Bubly" Donegan, European Editor, Unstrung

About the Author(s)

Michelle Donegan

Michelle Donegan is an independent technology writer who has covered the communications industry for the last 20 years on both sides of the Pond. Her career began in Chicago in 1993 when Telephony magazine launched an international title, aptly named Global Telephony. Since then, she has upped sticks (as they say) to the UK and has written for various publications including Communications Week International, Total Telecom and, most recently, Light Reading.  

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