RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| [Femtocell] The Beginning of the End of Residential VOIP
see trade article »www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wir···tocells/
Verizon Wireless Ponders Femtocells
By Roy Mark
2008-10-28
The wireless carrier submits a femtocell device to the Federal Communications Commission for a possible 2009 rollout. Essentially micro cell towers for the home and office, femtocell devices boost cell phone call coverage and capacity.
Verizon Wireless plans to enter the femtocell market next year, joining Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile as U.S. carriers that hope to use the technology to boost cell phone coverage and capacity in homes and offices. A modem-size femtocell device is currently under review at the Federal Communications Commission.
Femtocell devices are micro cell towers used in homes and small businesses to improve the quality of cellular telephone calls and to also allow users to make calls over a broadband connection. Sprint Nextel began deploying its Airave femtocells, manufactured by Samsung, in 2007. T-Mobile is also using femtocell technology to enhance its wireless network coverage.
"We are looking at femtocell technology and will soon be performing user tests," a Verizon Wireless spokesperson told Unstrung. "We could well have a product on the market early next year, but we have made no public announcements about that yet."
Connected through a broadband service such as DSL and cable modems, femtocell devices typically support two to five mobile phones in a residence. ABI Research predicts 103 million femtocell access points will be in service by 2013. My opinion: Once in the hands of the marketing powerhouse of Verizon Wireless, the misunderstood femtocell will make residential VOIP (and POTS lines) unnecessary for a vast majority of the population. By solving the problem of cell service in a home, folks will quickly realize that their cell number and personal voice mail can work for them all day long. Do not be surprised when cell providers come up with an online "portal" for call control capabilities that we are used to with our favorite VOIP providers.
I've had a Sprint Airave femtocell for almost two years and it really works. Sprint just doesn't know how (or have the inclination or cash) to market it. T-Mobile has made a publicity splash with their version.
Once the marketing guys at VZW get their hands on this, it's all over. Those predicting the death of POTS will be proven correct, taking down residential VOIP with it, IMO. The long term prospects for VOIP as we know it remain for business applications, and for niche markets like international calling. |
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pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
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·Future Nine Corpor..
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|  How do you like the Sprint device, and how much is Sprint charging for it?
I've seen it on their website, it looks interesting.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| reply to RockyBB
It's really too bad that 802.11 sucks so much power. It would be a lot simpler to just use WiFi enabled cell phones to accomplish the same thing as the femtocells, since so many people have home WiFi networks with the same coverage that the femtos are going to bring.
This way in a home there's more radiation (not necessarily a bad kind), more stuff to hook up, more vendor lock-in, more and different worry about sharing your connection, etc....
Perhaps something like dual band DECT enabled cell phones would make more sense than the femtos? I guess I'm thinking that a short range need should be met by an efficient short range protocol, not a spoofing of a long range cell protocol...
-- B
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In a realm outside causality and function |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| reply to pandora
I'll leave the pricing quotes up to Sprint. It was less expensive to acquire in the store than was advertised at the time. The monthly fee was as advertised.
Functionally it worked flawlessly. Usage minutes through the device did not count against my allowance and curiously did not get itemized on the invoice; I've not had the inclination to test if international calls would work and be billed. Multiple phones can use it simultaneously. Sprint allows you to designate which phones on your subscription can use it, locking out all others -- or if it's available to any nearby user.
Only a phone on the same subscription as the device gets free minutes through the device ... if a nearby neighbor picks up your Airave signal, his calls can go through the device, but he's not supposed to get free minutes. I'm not sure if the billing system is linked through the Airave partition so I suppose it's possible that the freeloader gets free minutes. Either way, you the subscriber are not liable for any costs other than the monthly fee.
Text messages and the original "Vision" internet capabilities seem to use the device; the new advanced EVDO capabilities (music, TV, etc) would not. The Nextel IDEN phones cannot use the Airave. I use a 3 year old Sanyo 8200 which came out prior to the Airave, and it works fine. Perhaps the newer phones would have an icon on the display to let you know if you're in range of the Airave. Sprint does play an audible beep when placing or answering calls to indicate that you're using the device.
E911 is supported through a GPS link.
Hands down, though, my favorite feature is the pretty blue light display on the front ... when the internet goes down the network light changes from blue to red, saving tons of analysis time figuring out why other stuff doesn't work!
What I see as the big advantage of the femtocell box is that it makes the home phone line (VOIP or POTS) unnecessary in too many cases. With clear audio and no danger of busting the cell allowance, home users will gradually find their home phone to be essentially answer only. Once the cell companies allow port-ins and support multiple numbers per phone, and provide a call control portal (and enhanced voice mail and blah blah) ... then the war is over. |
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mazilo
From Mazilo
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join:2002-05-30
Lilburn, GA
| reply to B
said by B  :This way in a home there's more radiation (not necessarily a bad kind), more stuff to hook up, more vendor lock-in, more and different worry about sharing your connection, etc.... And more expose to an accumulation of such microwave radiations that will perhaps cause human cells to mutate into other cells, including but not limited to cancer cells. Thousands years from now, perhaps this planet will be inhibited with mutated creatures and they will still call them a human species. Those who live in jungles that are not affected by these microwaves (absorbed by tree leaves) remain the same and will be treated as alien species. 
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pandora
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|  reply to RockyBB
I'm considering a port to Sprint of 5 cell phone accounts on a family plan. Unlimited calling to and from home could be nice. As I read it, for more than one phone you pay $20 a month, plus a $5 a month fee.
That would make it $25 a month for 5 phones with unlimited calling to and from home, with up to 3 calls allowed concurrently active.
That has potential.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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pandora
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Outland
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|  reply to mazilo
said by mazilo :And more expose to an accumulation of such microwave radiations that will perhaps cause human cells to mutate into other cells, including but not limited to cancer cells. Thousands years from now, perhaps this planet will be inhibited with mutated creatures and they will still call them a human species. Those who live in jungles that are not affected by these microwaves (absorbed by tree leaves) remain the same and will be treated as alien species. Yeah, but I bet those mutants will have wicked fast phones!
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| reply to pandora
said by pandora :Unlimited calling to and from home could be nice. Be careful ... calling "home" is a different concept with all cell with Airave and no POTS. There is no place to plug a phone into the Airave. It's a cellular repeater, not a VOIP ATA. You would have unlimited calling to any Sprint cell number anyway ... the Airave simply amplifies the signal in the home. So you wouldn't call "home" anymore, you would call the cell number of the family member you're looking for. |
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nitzan
Premium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
·Comcast
| reply to RockyBB
I think it's a little too soon to predict the death of VoIP. 
Death of high-priced VoIP? sure. But I don't see the budget-minded crowd, techies, or feature-oriented customers disappearing anytime soon.
I seriously don't see VZW providing the same features a VoIP provider would. Hell, my cell plan doesn't even have incoming CNAM! You'd think I'm paying enough for them to include it...
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Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation |
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pandora
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| reply to RockyBB
said by RockyBB :Be careful ... calling "home" is a different concept with all cell with Airave and no POTS. There is no place to plug a phone into the Airave. It's a cellular repeater, not a VOIP ATA. You would have unlimited calling to any Sprint cell number anyway ... the Airave simply amplifies the signal in the home. So you wouldn't call "home" anymore, you would call the cell number of the family member you're looking for. Not really. Calls going or coming would be free to the cell phones. Instead you pay a flat monthly charge of about $25 and provide broadband for it to do it's VOIP-like magic.
There are devices similar to an ATA for cell phones, which allow a cell phone, usually via Bluetooth to function as an ATA for analog service in a home.
Imagine your home phone network is energized by a Bluetooth to RJ11 device which is fed by your cellphone.
At that point, you get dial tone, and traditional phone service from a cell phone. The cell phone may have unlimited in and out calling via one of these devices for a fixed monthly price.
In my opinion this isn't the death of VOIP, just another form of VOIP, one that cell phone companies will control.
An example of the type of device I'm suggesting which converts RJ11 to Bluetooth is at - »www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZHS8ZW/ref···Code=asn
See also - »www.blueraven.com/us/Item/ItemDe···No=60875
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| said by pandora :Imagine your home phone network is energized by a Bluetooth to RJ11 device which is fed by your cellphone. That's all good, but limited to proximity to the cell phone. If your wife is out shopping, and you call her number, it would ring where her phone is, not at your home. If no cell phones are at home, then you're simply ringing to the phones, not to the "home." Those type of "on-net" calls are free, anyway, you don't need the Airave for that. You need the Airave to amplify the signal in the home and to get free minutes for talking outside Sprint's subscriber base. It would be an interesting "add-on" for a non-portable ATA-type device ... though isn't that how T-Mobile does it? |
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RevMortis
I Hear Dead Silicon
Premium
join:2005-05-10
Saint Paul, MN | reply to RockyBB
One question. How good is E911 through these devices? |
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pandora
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1 edit | reply to RockyBB
It depends on how you approach it. If you want to dedicate a cell phone from a family plan to be your permanent home phone, nothing stops you.
At the same time, taking the home number with you when traveling could be a benefit for some.
This technology has potential to challenge traditional VOIP.
The Sprint cost for an extra line on a voice plan is $10, the cost for the device for one line per month is $15.
Would you pay $25 a month for unlimited phone service provided by a large national phone company? Some will, some won't.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| reply to RevMortis
said by RevMortis :One question. How good is E911 through these devices? I can't say from experience. But I do know that the delay in launching it nationwide (from the initial test markets of Denver, Indy and Nashville) was to ensure that the GPS/E911 system was functional. There is a control in the box that disables the calling functionality until it can get a GPS reading for E911 purposes. They included a really long string antenna in the carton with my unit, in the event that the device could not find a GPS signal without it (I didn't need the external antenna). Sprint is a company with a lot of lawyers, who need to protect the assets of the corporation, so E911 was a priority for them. As always, YMMV! |
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nitzan
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join:2008-02-27
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| reply to pandora
said by pandora :It depends on how you approach it. If you want to dedicate a cell phone from a family plan to be your permanent home phone, nothing stops you. At the same time, taking the home number with you when traveling could be a benefit for some. Dedicating one phone to be the "home phone" kinda defeats the purpose though, no? If today you can use POTS or VoIP with one base and 3,4 or even 8 handsets - in a cell-is-the-home-phone situation you're limited to one handset.
Taking the home phone with you is a great idea in theory - but what if you travel on business and your wife or roommates stay home? one of you gets the home phone - the other doesn't.
With VoIP it's possible (and easy) to take an ATA with you and ring both locations at the same time.
I think in a way if you want home phone service - femtocells is not going to work well. If you want personal service - i.e. each member of the family has their own phone and there is no centralized "home phone" - then femtocells will work.
But who knows.. maybe the boys up at VZ have already thought of these things and solutions to them. But then again- wouldn't this compete with their land line and VoIP business?
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation |
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pandora
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1 edit | You aren't limited to one handset if it is driving your home wired analog phones. That handset becomes your access point for the entire home.
Some cell phone companies will be concerned about the potential for this competing with land line business, others won't.
It seems as if $25-35 a month is the high price point for unlimited calling via VOIP or alternatives such as Femtocell.
In my case, I've got a nice price from Future-Nine and great VOIP service at a bit over $11 per month. That is tough to beat, even for Sprint.
Now, if I call Sprint retentions and complain about poor signal strength, and they offer me a free Femtocell ... that could change the game a bit.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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nitzan
Premium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
·Comcast
| said by pandora :It seems as if $25-35 a month is the high price point for unlimited calling via VOIP or alternatives such as Femtocell. Vonage, Packet 8, and basically any VSP that's been concentrating on brand at higher prices is probably going to see some line loss out of this (although this by itself won't kill them).
Smaller providers are probably not going to be affected too much. BYOD crowd is not likely to throw away their adapters anytime soon, and like you said - even with femtocells it's hard to beat $11 a month. 
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation |
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jay_rm
join:2002-04-12
Netville
 ·Fox Valley Internet
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2 edits | reply to RockyBB
said by RockyBB :said by pandora :Unlimited calling to and from home could be nice. Be careful ... calling "home" is a different concept with all cell with Airave and no POTS. There is no place to plug a phone into the Airave. It's a cellular repeater, not a VOIP ATA. You would have unlimited calling to any Sprint cell number anyway ... the Airave simply amplifies the signal in the home. So you wouldn't call "home" anymore, you would call the cell number of the family member you're looking for. It might be a little confusing to call these femtocell products "cellular repeaters". That suggests they simply re-transmit the strongest local cell inside your house. What they do is take the place of a larger outdoor cell site. The femtocell uses YOUR wired broadband connection to backhaul any phone registered to it. It doesn't 'repeat' anything.
Most people already have a usable cell signal in their house. Why would the spread of femtocells impact VoIP if the majority of users already COULD use their cellphone in their house. Femtocell technology is being pushed by the cellular providers because it's just another way to decrease the load on their network.
Of course, I'm sure they'll market it to the ignorant public in a much different way !
{edit for spelling}
{edit2 - not calling YOU ignorant Rocky...} |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
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| reply to RockyBB
eh, two things have to happen for the true beginning of the end of residential VOIP:
1) price has to be competitive and amazing to get converts.
2) provide some ability for people that don't want to use a cell phone all the time to use regular pots style phones at home. |
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chpalmer
join:2002-11-18
Belfair, WA
·wavebroadband
·VOIPo
| reply to jay_rm
quote:
Most people already have a usable cell signal in their house..... Femtocell technology is being pushed by the cellular providers because it's just another way to decrease the load on their network.
Of course, I'm sure they'll market it to the ignorant public in a much different way !
Thats right!
There are allot of people that dont have good enough coverage and this will help them though. My office is a prime example. Cell site rental and buildout is expensive. Why wouldnt they do this? |
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