CORE CONNECTION
Beyond those drawbacks, an additional complication is that there is no standardized approach to integrating a femtocell into a cellular operator's core network; rather, four proposed architectures exist.
The first method is to create an IP tunnel, which encapsulates 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) signaling to a radio network controller, sometimes referred to as a base station controller. The disadvantage for carriers is that, although lub sig- naling is standardized, there are generally vendor-specific features for each radio network controller, requiring operators to use femtocells and RNCs from the same vendor, creating lock-in. There are also scalability questions.
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THE LOWDOWN
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THE PROMISE Femtocells aim to give users the ability to access cellular voice and data services in locations where signals are weak or spotty. THE PLAYERS AirWalk, Ericsson, IPaccess, PicoChip Designs, NEC, Samsung, and Ubiquisys have offerings now. Others, including Motorola and Nokia, are hanging back, waiting for architectural decisions to shake out. THE PROSPECTS By offering mobile subscribers ubiquitous cellular-network voice and data access via femtocells, carriers won't miss out on those high-margin minutes. End users and customers enjoy better mobile voice and data performance as well as a stronger cellular signal and won't have to compete for resources from the macro cellular network. That said, femtocells' limited capacity--each can support just four to six phones--are a drawback. And there's competition: Both consumer- and enterprise-oriented mobile devices, for example, Apple's iPhone and various Nokia phones, are including support for Wi-Fi. As Wi-Fi becomes more ubiquitous, particularly in the consumer market, it may compete with cellular as the in-building wireless technology of choice, further limiting the potential market for femtocell technology. |
A second method is to connect each femtocell to a separate and proprietary concentrator/RNC. The disadvantage of this approach is that operators would have to deploy additional network equipment solely to serve femtocells. A third option calls for connecting femtocells via IP to a UMA controller within the operator's core network. While UMA offers more flexibility in terms of supporting applications than a proprietary concentrator, it requires carriers to deploy additional equipment (in the form of UMA controllers) in their networks.
The final option is to have femtocells connect directly to the IP multimedia subsystem, or IMS, core of a cellular network with Session Initiation Protocol used for signaling (see diagram, above). The drawbacks are that IMS as a concept is relatively new, and those carriers on board with the idea are still in the process of deploying it throughout their networks, so femtocell projects would have to be delayed until upgrades are finished for each market.
Bottom line, femtocells represent an interesting way of tackling the problem of in-building coverage in small businesses and branch offices, where the extra cost for a voice-over-Wi-Fi-ready WLAN infrastructure and Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones may be prohibitive. However, Wi-Fi is clearly positioned as the in-building wireless networking technology of choice. Many enterprises are willing to invest in dual-mode phones to give employees access to mobile applications inside or outside of a building. And with Wi-Fi likely to be supported by many consumer phones in the next five years (witness Apple's iPhone), the long-term viability of femtocells in the enterprise is open to question. Still, for remote sites that need coverage, they're an option worth exploring.
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