UK to see the release of the 3G femtocell by Vodafone

A new femtocell device has been released into the commercial market by Vodafone, which makes it the first mobile provide to offer this product in Europe.

The new femtocell device is a set-top box that allows users to use the mobile network to move data over the internet and also improves the signal strength of 3G within the home.

Problems with getting a 3G signal inside buildings, especially the older ones, has been well documented, with a waning issued to mobile broadband providers last year by research company InStat saying that to improve the popularity of 3G they would need to work towards improving 3G signal strength in the home.

Looking similar to a standard router, the femtocell is a small mobile base-station and many industry experts have expected this device to provide a viable product for improve the connection quality of mobile phones.

Connecting to the internet using the broadband telephone line in the home the femtocell device improves the quality of the mobile signal in the house. It also helps providers to save on expanding the capacity of their backhaul by moving some of the data over the mobile network.

Announcing its new 3G femtocell device as the first of its kind in Europe Vodafone advised that its Vodafone Access Gateway would be available either online or through its retail outlets as of the 1st July when it spoke at the Global Femtocell Summit that was held in London.

Vodafone stated “The Gateway is available from free (on certain tariffs) or as part of an inclusive price plan from as little as £15 ($24.45) a month. It is also available as a one off purchase for £160 ($261) or a monthly charge from as little as £5 ($8.14).”

Source – www.techworld.com