Would you pay extra for hardware and, possibly, a monthly fee, to improve cellular voice and data coverage inside your home or office? Or would you consider it a rip-off because, after all, you're already paying a monthly subscription fee that should ensure good interior coverage?
This year you might face that decision, as operators begin to offer femtocells that are, in essence, mini base stations for indoor use.
Femtocells are similar in size and function to WiFi routers. Both devices connect via a cable to a landline broadband connection. But instead of your laptop's WiFi modem connecting to the router, your cellular phone connects via its cellular signal to the femtocell. As a result, femtocells can dramatically increase cellular signal strength indoors or enable a signal where it wasn't available.
In the United States, Sprint offers its Airwave femtocell for $100, plus $5 a month. For an extra $10 a month you can get unlimited local calling via the femtocell. But Airwave gets a big raspberry because it doesn't support data, just voice.
Verizon Wireless's Network Extender costs $250, without requiring a monthly fee. Network Extender gets a raspberry for allowing data only via 2.5G technology (1xRTT). AT&T Mobility hasn't released details of its 3G MicroCell, but the name implies it supports, duh, 3G (GSM HSDPA). Sprint and Verizon femtocells allow three simultaneous phone connections. The 3G MicroCell can support four simultaneous users.
Femtocells can cause security and interference issues. Sometimes you can lock down the femtocell to specific phones, but it's possible some femtocells will allow other users -- your neighbors or passersby within range -- to access the system.
Also, femtocells can be degraded by RF interference, including from other femtocells in the area. In addition, femtocells incorporate GPS because they may be used only in the cellular operator's primary coverage area. Without receiving a GPS position, the femtocell won't operate. Interestingly, in the future, femtocells might receive positioning from TV signals.
T-Mobile doesn't provide femtocells. It offers WiFi-enabled handsets incorporating UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) to transmit calls via a WiFi router, either T-Mobile's $40 box or most other routers. T-Mobile's HotSpot Calling plan costs $10 per month for unlimited domestic calls.
I expect many cellular operators will offer discount voice and/or data plans for femtocells. Triple-play telecom services, such as AT&T U-Verse, might offer femtocells as part of broadband Internet, TV, and phone packages. Also, femtocells might foster interesting services, such as automatically sending podcasts to your phone as soon as you get home.
Femtocells could be a huge win for cellular operators. Not only do they charge for the product, but it also allows them to extend their networks' ranges without having to invest in more cellsites.
Some network executives don't think you're even entitled to indoor coverage with your regular cellphone subscription! Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, told the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2005, "Why in the world would you think your [cell] phone would work in your house?... The customer has come to expect so much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement."
Cellular executives shouldn't get too cocky. A U.K. man who signed a contract with Orange, but couldn't get coverage in his home or office, sued the company because he wanted to end the contract. He won the suit.
Assuming femtocells work as advertised, they can provide an easy way for non-techies to increase indoor cellphone penetration. However, today's femtocells are too expensive. They should be under $100, with no recurring fee.
Femtocells will, undoubtedly, spark discussions about coverage and leveraging that coverage for new wireless Internet features.
Many femtocell companies are testing hardware for the enterprise, including "super" femtocells for eight and 16 simultaneous conversations. Other companies are exploring femtocell gateways to integrate multiple femtocells.
Lots of work still needs to be done, and there are all sorts of problems with RF interference, phones locking onto the cellular tower rather than the femtocell, etc.
A Google search will turn up many articles are enterprise femtocell developments.
As pointed out in the article, however, there are still questions to resolve about utilizing femtocells like that.
For the time being, at least, femtocells are a consumer item. And a good one, overall. I wonder, though, how these things respond in a corporate LAN. If a user tries to bring one into the office because his cell phone doesn't work in the building...
An article in RCR News suggests that femtocells could be used outdoors to fill in coverage.
As for the cellular operators' monthly caps of 5GB, that certainly is a sore point, but they continue to claim that the overwhelming number of users don't reach that limit. The operators will require a powerful incentive to increase the cap.
Perhaps one operator will see it as a competitive advantage to raise the limit, and other operators will follow. LTE is, supposedly, more efficient than HSDPA, so perhaps the limit will be raised when LTE is launched.
Sorry about the mixup, reiter. I never meant to imply that you were advocating COLTs/COWs as permanent installs. Instead, I was comparing them to femtocells as temporary solutions. Because of the need to provision a data "landline", I'm not sure that a femtocell works as well as a COLT or a COW would permit. Especially so in situations where carriers can use microwave transmitters to lock into an existing infrastructure.
I'm sure it's possible to configure a femtocell similarly to a COLT/COW, but all the stories I've seen on femtocells (and picocells, for that matter) seem to say that the current work is toward filling in-building holes in preexisting coverage.
On a side note that's come up: I think carriers are making a big mistake with their 5GB limits on usage. Not in having limit. I just think that 5GB is a low limit for business users, who have been (up to now) the majority sales target, especially for data cards/adapters. I think a limit is inevitable, but it should be 15 or even 20GB. I think approximately 1GB/day makes a good guideline for a user on the road by needing data service.
Are you being sarcastic or do you really believe that? I know some people contend the Internet is not designed for bandwidth-intensive applications or entertainment and, therefore, shouldn't be used for that. Some people say the same thing about cellular.
It certainly was true -- years ago. But the Internet and cellular infrastructures about being upgraded because most of the world demands the ability to use whatever applications they want, whether it's streaming video or multi-player games.
I can't believe you think the Internet shouldn't be used for streaming video. Even if I buy your argument -- which I don't -- that the Internet shouldn't be video entertainment, there's enormous value in streaming video, such as watching live news coverage, especially in locations where broadcast or cable TV aren't available. Streaming video also has tremendous value for business applications as well.
streaming video has no place on the net it is for entertainment on TV. you cannot convey information via video you need to compile a quality PDF with illustrations where needed
As I assume you know, if you're having problems with streaming video, letting it sit for 30 seconds or so could help fill the buffer. Of course, if the data rate isn't fast enough, it won't matter. And if the laptop has integrated graphics instead of a separate graphics card....
The main thing is to consider where you're going to be using cellular data -- perhaps for two years of a contract -- and determine whether the coverage is good enough in the main locations you frequent. Obviously, that's not always possible. But the more you can narrow down where you're going to be using cellular data, the better you can determine whether the coverage is adequate -- and test it during your two-week trial.
If you're going to be doing a fair amount of traveling, Verizon might be your best bet because, overall, it's the best. The key is, though, overall. For specific locations, the coverage could be awful or nonexistent.
I haven't had much experience with embedded cellular modem cards. A major consideration is the antenna placement. Antennas on the bottom of a laptop are usually awful. So if the cellular modem is inserted in the bottom of the laptop, and the laptop is on top of the antenna, well, you understand.
If the card is connected to a good antenna that's located, for example, around the perimeter of the laptop screen, the sensitivity is improved. That also depends on whether you intend to keep the laptop for the length of the contract, which is why I like the flexibility of USB modems.
More laptops are incorporating an ExpressCard slot, so an ExpressCard modem might be okay. Again, this assumes all the computers you'll be using have that slot. And, this might be a minor point, but if your home/office wired Internet goes down, and you're using a desktop that doesn't have an ExpressCard, you could insert a USB modem.
I tried the sprint's USB aircard I borrowed from a buddy of mine and wanted to hoard it for good! I kept singing to my self T.I.'s song with a twist, "you can have the internet where ever you like...yeah" as if it was already a jingle.
My only complaint was that streaming media/video was intermittent...but letting it sit for 30 seconds or more had smooth playback...and I was hooked!
I would prefer one of those small cards (only heard about them) that you can place internally, however reliability/performance dictates the cellular modem type of my choosing. If you personally have a preference, please do share!!
Thanks for the informative response!! not to mention how right on you are! I've had wife hotspot issues that made my head spin recently and spoke with a t-mobile rep that validated the rumor you heard in regards to the faster USB 3G aircard due out in March..he did not recommend their current offerings.
As always, a great blog Alan! and thanks for your response.
Very slowly, some municipalities are requiring cellular coverage in tunnels. In the Washington, D.C. area, where I live, the subway (i.e., the Metro) system will, finally, be equipped with cellphone coverage from all four major carriers -- Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T. Initially, it will be available in about 20 subway stations. Previously, Verizon was the primary cellular operator in the subway.
As far as cellular phones go....overall, the best nationwide coverage and reliability is from Verizon. Also, its 1xEV-DO network works well. Sprint also has a good EV-DO data network, although its nationwide coverage isn't quite as good as Verizon's.
Until several months ago, Sprint's wireless data modem service was truly ulimited. But it has since gone with a 5GB cap like the other carriers.
AT&T Mobility's 3G HSDPA data network has spotty performance. Sometimes it works fine and is fast, sometimes not. T-Mobile is just building out its 3G HSDPA data network. I could be wrong, but I don't know if T-Mobile sells a 3G modem yet. I've read rumors of a USB modem, possibly for March.
So, I'd go with Verizon or Sprint. As I'm sure you know, coverage varies tremendously. You might live and work in an area that has great coverage and reliability from T-Mobile, AT&T, etc. But you're less likely to incur problems with Verizon or Sprint.
Another option is to not get a cellular modem but to tether a phone via cable or Bluetooth. Tethering via a cable often produces faster data rates and more reliable connections than Bluetooth, but many people use both. Using a dedicated cellular modem, however, generally produces the best results, although I've had no problems with tethering.
Also, do you want an Express Card, PC Card or USB cellular modem? The USB modem is more versatile because it can be used with any computer. The "card" modems don't stick out much.
As I noted in a previous comment, cellular coverage maps are just guidelines. The only way to determine whether cellular coverage is good enough is to use the cellular phone.
Cellular boosters/amplifiers can work, although many people (1) don't know they exist and/or (2) don't want to spend the money to find out.
Femtocells might offer a less techie way for people to improve coverage. Some people have argued that a femtocell should be able to accommodate all cellular networks in a country. That's much easier in countries where GSM is the standard, but more difficult in the U.S. where we have, obviously GSM and CDMA. It's not impossible, but impractical.
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