The 1984 Tech Blog

Normally when someone is at home and makes a cell call it is routed through the closest cell tower and uses minutes from that persons service plan. However with femtocells the game has changed completely. With femtocell technology cell calls from ones home can now be routed through a dedicated VoIP network and not count towards the callers available minutes.

The word femtocell originated from the prefix femto which means 10-15 or essentially a extremely small number. When this prefix is used in conjunction with the word cell as “femtocell” it refers to a small electronic device and the technology that it employs. Femtocells are a relatively new idea and they work by creating their own small, independent cell networks. One major issue that femtocells are expected to solve is the inability of mobile carriers to provide an adequate signal where its user want it most, inside buildings and homes. In this case femtocells will work as a cell signal booster of sorts by providing perfect service in the home. With the small network created by a femtocell all calls that are made while in range of it are routed over a dedicated VoIP network rather than through a cell network.

The practicality behind femtocell is two fold. With the benefits being to move traffic off of clogged cell networks while people are at home and allow for better service indoors.

Over the past year mobile carriers have tried to introduce femtocell devices to their subscribers, albeit unsuccessfully. The issue lies with mobile carriers wanting to charge subscribers a monthly fee for unlimited femtocell minutes and an expensive upfront cost for the device. In this case the cell carriers want to have their cake and eat it too. With internet phones becoming popular these days mobile carriers are experiencing clogged cell networks that lower overall call quality. Due to this carriers need to move calls and data use off of their networks. One way to do this is by getting subscribers to use femtocells. However they want to try to accomplish this feat while also charging customers more money.

Recently, there had been alot of noise in the femtocell sector from Ymax, the company known for providing low-cost phone services through its landline based magicJack VoIP device. The commotion has come from Ymax’s announcement of the femtoJack – a new femtocell device that was recently tested and shown off by Ymax CEO Dan Barislow at the CES 2010. The femtoJack uses femtocell technology and works just like other femtocells but it seems to be the first femtocell that we have see that comes at a price that consumers are be willing to pay, $40 up front and then $20 per year thereafter.

Outside of the femtoJack there have been other femtocell offerings but none of them have been very successful. Sprint was the first carrier to offer a femtocell in the US when they come out with the much anticipated AIRAVE femtocell. Unfortunately due to high costs for the device and a monthly service charge the AIRAVE has yet to take off.

The race now seems to be on among Sprint, Ymax, and other femtocell producers to be the first to produce a low cost femtocell that will actually entice consumers to jump on board. Regardless of who wins the race it is clear that once manufacturing costs are reduced to a rate that makes femtocells affordable to consumers the market for them will explode.