Verizon Wireless jumping in the femtocell pool

Got a cellular dead-zone in your home? Verizon Wireless might be able to help as they plan to roll out femtocells later this year. The product (already in trials for Sprint customers) is essentially a small cellular tower for your phone. Don't worry, you won't have to build anything tall in your backyard for this: the femtocell product shouldn't be much different in size from a standard WiFi router. The picture shown is a model that Sprint is using, for example. It will actually work in conjunction with just such a router as your cell phone will connect to the femtocell and in turn, your voice traffic will then be sent over your broadband connection. It's a nice way to a carrier to "expand" their network presence without spending millions in infrastructure costs.

No word on exact pricing or availability dates, but Sprint is subsidizing their hardware offering to make the cost $50 for a consumer. They then tack on $15 a month for unlimited calls while in your home. Had I not switched to AT&T Wireless, I would have been willing to give this a try; it would have made it that much easier for me to ditch my over-priced landline. I only keep the landline around for my DSL connection and I never got around to researching a "naked-DSL" option. Besides: me want FiOS!

Comments

[nomo]

The service seems to be postitioned in competition with telco land lines. Can a femtocell be used as an alternative to a broadband cable modem? Does it provide the same transmission rates as other cellular data services (e.g. EVDO)?

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Not sure I follow the question as it works with your existing broadband connection; it's not a replacement as I see it.

[nomo]

Thanks, Kevin. It seems that femtocells only apply to users with both cellular voice and data service in locations with low signal strength.