The cellular industry is always searching for ways to provide end users more optional services and feast on the craving for more technology. The latest? Femtocell’s. A Femtocell (or Microcell) is a mini cellular tower that becomes a personal (or family) hot spot of 3G wireless technology. All you need is a standard wall outlet and broadband internet connection to plug it into and you can go from zero wireless coverage to great cellular coverage in a minute. The trick? Your broadband connection provides the backhaul for the wireless carrier to complete your calls, text messages or data sessions. Neat huh? Yeah, I guess it is. In fact, depending on which carrier you go with, you can even get unlimited calling while using one of these devices (for a small fee added to your cell phone bill of course). So if I live in an area with weak cellular coverage or just want to reduce the amount of minutes I have to purchase by using a Femtocell, it is very possibly the ideal solution. The drawbacks? Well, if I happen to live in a city or populated area that depends on cable TV and Broadband internet, there may not be enough bandwidth available to handle my calls after the kids get home from school. Not sure how all this will work in an enterprise environment. Perhaps more bandwidth will be needed, which will increase the landline telecom expense in exchange to offload the wireless carrier’s traffic on your broadband connection which may or may not reduce your wireless expense. Oh yeah, did I mention you have to pay for the Femtocell? Probably not a big deal if you currently have no coverage where you need it. But if you do have adequate coverage, is it really that compelling? Hmmmmm, so let me get this straight, if I have no coverage issues and get a Femtocell, I pay the wireless carrier for the device that offloads their traffic onto my network to free up space on theirs so they can put more subscribers and services on it and make more money? I thought I was already making these guys money, at least that’s what my cell phone bill says………
Sam Serianni