Femtocells & Femto BTS

I've just read some articles related with this "femto" issue. Also, maybe some of you have heard about this thing ...

Source/Courtesy FemtoForum.org

At least Sprint and Verizon have already offered early "femto" services (cited from dailywireless.org | lightreading.com). But for me, at a first glance, it wasn't quite clear: what benefits are given to the customers? Whether these femto-APs/BTSs could really with-reasonable-benefits replace existing infrastructures? ....



Let's start with some definitions/quotes:

• "Femtocells, or tiny cellular base stations, ..." (lightreading) --> okay, intuitive, it shall be smaller than pico
• "A femtocell is a low-power wireless access point that operates in licensed spectrum to connect standard mobile devices to a mobile operator’s network using residential DSL or cable broadband connections" (FemtoForum) --> several questions such mentioned above begin to confront !
• "The pint-size base stations go into homes or offices to improve indoor cellular coverage and the traffic is backhauled to the mobile core network over users' own broadband connections" (lightreading) --> it isn't new, heh ?
• “Perhaps best of all, the device sends all calls over the subscriber's home broadband connection, usually DSL or cable, so the carrier doesn't have to pay to carry the traffic from the femtocell to its network. "Backhaul" traffic, which runs calls from cellular towers to the wired network, is a major cost for carriers.” (hp community) --> sure, but could they really replace existing outdoor BTSs? No! (disagree? leave a comment please :-D)
• "Femtocells in our homes connected to our DSL or cable modems where we get our Internet access from the local access provider. We all pay the local access provider for the “backhaul” of our WiFi access points, home routers, PCs, etc. Hence we are subsidizing the backhaul of the femtocell for the wireless operator to obtain coverage footprint in our homes. And yet, Sprint is charging $50 for their femtocell (from Samsung) and $15 per month service for unlimited calls from home…" (hp community) --> agree :-D
  

A better argument

• 
  
  "At an LTE conference in Berlin I spoke to two Motorola network managers. They explained me a femtocell approach that could be suitable for integrated carriers such as Vodafone, which owns one of the biggest DSL providers in Germany: Arcor.

  People could get a very cheap DSL connection from Arcor under the condition that they install a femtocell at home, which is not only for themselves but can be used by every passing Vodafone user on the street. Vodafone would subsidize my fixed line if I help them with their wireless LTE coverage.

  The Motorola people also told me that the most expensive cost unit of a cellphone base station is the roof rent. I guess they would be happy to cut some antennas in exchange for femtocells. It seems plausible to me." (Markus Goebel Comment @gigaom)
  

First forget about LTE, DSL or Cable connections can not reach 150 Mbps right ? cmiiw! For voice services as Verizon does with its femto-offerings, at least the connections shall be able to reserve 100+ kbps for three parallel conversations. How about QoS ? well, it shall be another thread :-D

Could we soon hear Telkomsel-Femto or Indosat-Femto offerings ??? Questionsmark :-D

*Update - From Wikipedia.org*

In telecommunications, a femtocell—originally known as an Access Point Base Station—is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in residential or small business environments. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable); current designs typically support 5 to 200 mobile phones in a residential setting. A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. The femtocell incorporates the functionality of a typical base station but extends it to allow a simpler, self contained deployment; an example is a UMTS femtocell containing a Node B, RNC and GSN with Ethernet for backhaul. Although much attention is focussed on UMTS, the concept is applicable to all standards, including GSM, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and WiMAX solutions.
For a mobile operator, the attractions of a femtocell are improvements to both coverage and capacity, especially indoors. There may also be opportunity for new services and reduced cost. The cellular operator also benefits from the improved capacity and coverage but also can reduce both capital expenditure and operating expense.
Femtocells are an alternative way to deliver the benefits of Fixed Mobile Convergence. The distinction is that most FMC architectures require a new (dual-mode) handset which works with existing home/enterprise Wi-Fi access points, while a femtocell-based deployment will work with existing handsets but requires installation of a new access point.

Click here for complete femto story at Wikipedia

*Update - OC*

Femtocells for indoor coverage
+ pushed heavily as a solution, but issues remain
+ unit pricing, standards, spectrum availability, interference management
+ fits best with an integrated fixed/mobile operator

Click here for the story of Verizon-Femto at dailywireless.org