Vodafone to boost rural 3G by using femtocells

If you’re unfamiliar with technology used in 3G, then femtocells might sound a bit foreign to you. Femtocells are actually small cellular base stations that were made for use in homes or small business offices. It works by connecting to the provider’s network via DSL or cable to extend service coverage indoors, minimising areas where there would normally be limited or no coverage at all. Aside from coverage, femtocells can also make huge improvements to capacity.

Femtocells have actually been around for quite a while now, with a UK manufacturer announcing that it would make direct sales of the units to the public back in 2009. Hay Systems Ltd resorted to such a move in order to force operators to work with one another and to get them to integrate their systems as well.

One operator that has been actively using femtocells in Vodafone. The firm has since made another announcement that that it is planning to use femtocell technology to improve 3G mobile reception in rural areas in the UK and is in the process of looking for a dozen towns to take part in trials that it is conducting.

Vodafone stated: “Mobile connectivity plays a vital role in keeping communities in touch and helping to support rural economies,” Vodafone said in a statement. “The economics of getting mobile coverage into rural areas by traditional methods, however, can mean that some communities have less opportunity than others to take part in the growing smartphone revolution.”

The trials will begin early next year in twelve communities. Vodafone will be making use of BT Openreach’s telephone poles as well. Vodafone has been offering Sure Signal femtocell units to improve home reception since 2009, but the new technology they are introducing will be making use of “open” femtocells. These open units are basically low-power 3G mobile phone base stations that do not require any pre-registrations on the phone numbers that will make use of it.

Vodafone also added: “We will also look to experiment with other technologies, such as microwave, and contact Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) to see whether the networks it is helping create could be used to get coverage into areas where there is currently no broadband service at all.”

Source – ZDNet