O2 and NEC begin UK femtocell trials

O2 and NEC have joined forces to deliver the UK's first live femtocell trial.

If successful, the trial will be rolled out in greater numbers across the UK in the summer leading to a commercial launch by early 2009.

NEC will provide the hardware for the trial, including its 3G Femtocell Access Point for direct subscriber use, Femtocell Gateway and Access Point Management and Provisioning System.

O2 claimed that demand for 3G mobile voice and data services is accelerating and that up to 80 per cent of these services are used indoors. But issues remain with 3G radio penetrating buildings.

Analyst firm ABI Research said that the European femtocell market is expected to represent the largest global market at 16.6 million units per annum in 2012 of a total shipment volume of 36 million units and a market valuation of $4.2bn.

Vivek Dev, chief operating officer at Telefónica O2 Europe, said: "This technology has the potential to support increased growth in the use and consumption of services and data, and could play a crucial role in underpinning the explosive growth of mobile broadband usage.

"We see femtocells as complementary to our outdoor coverage and aim to build applications that our customers need and value.

"The trial will help us define what is required to make femtocell services a success by understanding how customers will use the service."

Dev added that femtocells coupled with DSL could provide an alternative capacity resource to help alleviate the huge capacity demands placed on mobile networks by the increasing use of mobile data.

"This trial marks a watershed in the industry, as the benefits of femtocell technology for operators and subscribers will be tested and proven for everyone to see," said Richard Hanscott, vice president of the Network Solutions Division at NEC Europe.

NEC has several femtocell trials underway globally, and is a board member of the Femto Forum which sets the agenda for femtocell deployment worldwide.

Vodafone is currently carrying out technical trials of 3G femtocells in Spain with Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei to explore the potential of femtocells.