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Femtocells deliver numerous benefits for end users, including better coverage within a building. As users move beyond the coverage of the macro cellular network provided by base stations run by the carrier, they'll be able to roam seamlessly onto the in-building network provided by the femtocell, using existing handsets.
Femtocells should also provide 3G services that otherwise wouldn't be available from the macro network because of low signal strength or because the carrier hasn't rolled out faster radio technologies such as EV-DO. And users may be able to get better network speeds from the femtocell because they won't have to compete with others for either radio or backhaul resources on the macro network. Of course, they may still have to compete with other users for femtocell access.
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Beyond better coverage and faster data services, femtocells may also help lower cell phone costs by providing a "home zone" service, such as T-Mobile's T-Mobile@Home service. Generally, home zone services rely on either GAN (generic access network, also known as UMA) services or tying a user to a particular base station to create a home zone of up to several kilometers. Femtocells let operators create home zones limited to a building without users needing Wi-Fi access points--and without limiting users to expensive dual-mode handsets. With 25% of employees using their mobile phones at their desks, according to Strategy Analytics, the advantages of home zone services is clear.
However, femtocells aren't a slam dunk. From the carrier perspective, maintaining the integrity of the macro cellular network is the most important engineering goal, but the impact of femtocells is unclear. They'll have to obey conditions imposed by the macro cellular network. Otherwise, users walking or driving by a building that houses an open femtocell may roam onto it, then back onto the macro network. That's not good for carriers, since it could place strain on the back-end cellular infrastructure. In areas where there's a strong signal from the macro network, a femtocell may have to decrease its output power to the point where it provides only minimal coverage for the building it's in. Or a femtocell could be deployed on a separate frequency, which would consume some of the carrier's costly spectrum. Yet another option to address roaming complexities would be to restrict femtocells to specific phones so that outsiders don't accidentally roam onto them.
Base-station transmissions are also highly synchronized, meaning that a femtocell has to sync to an accurate time source. Unfortunately, synchronization can drive up the cost of femtocell use. Several options exist, including synchronizing to a network time protocol server via the IP backhaul connection; listening to timing signals from the macro network, which is viable only where the macro network exists; and using a GPS receiver for timing, though the GPS hardware needed for this approach increases cost and the femtocell or an antenna must have unobstructed GPS access.
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