O2, NEC in UK femtocell trial
By Mary Lennighan, Total Telecom, in Barcelona
U.K. mobile operator sees commercial launch in early 2009, vendor predicts femtocell launches in Asia, Europe in 2H 2008.
U.K. mobile operator O2 is conducting trials of femtocell technology in conjunction with NEC, and anticipates commercial launch in the next 12 months.
Laboratory trials of the technology are scheduled to finish in mid-March with a friendly user trial "starting in the May timeframe," Anil Kohli, director of Global Femto Competence Centre at NEC Europe, told Total Telecom ahead of the announcement.
"We are supplying the whole end-to-end solution… which includes the access point… and the femtocell gateway," said Kohli. The equipment has already been integrated into O2's network.
The firms revealed that if forthcoming trials prove successful, they will be extended to a larger number of people this summer "with the view to a commercial launch by early 2009."
The announcement marks a key milestone in the route to market for femtocell technology, which hit the headlines this time last year at 3GSM here in Barcelona.
"Since then I think we have made reasonable progress," said Kohli.
NEC is conducting trials with several other operators in Europe, which will be announced later this year. "We are almost towards the end of some of those trials," Kohli said, "[and we have] a long queue of trial requests."
The Japanese vendor is working with mobile operators worldwide on femtocell rollouts, and is particularly active in its home market and elsewhere in Asia.
"The first deployment may happen in Japan," said Kohli. The first commercial deployment in Europe is likely to be in October or November, he predicts; "maybe a few months earlier in Japan."
Analysts' predictions on the femtocell market vary. To quote one, ABI Research forecasts global shipments of 36 million units and a market valuation of $4.2 billion by 2012, with Europe accounting for 16.6 million units.
"This year it will be shipments in the order of 100,000, rather than several millions," Kohli predicts. "Any numbers of hundreds of thousands will be quite a success."
By Mary Lennighan, Total Telecom, in Barcelona
U.K. mobile operator sees commercial launch in early 2009, vendor predicts femtocell launches in Asia, Europe in 2H 2008.
U.K. mobile operator O2 is conducting trials of femtocell technology in conjunction with NEC, and anticipates commercial launch in the next 12 months.
Laboratory trials of the technology are scheduled to finish in mid-March with a friendly user trial "starting in the May timeframe," Anil Kohli, director of Global Femto Competence Centre at NEC Europe, told Total Telecom ahead of the announcement.
"We are supplying the whole end-to-end solution… which includes the access point… and the femtocell gateway," said Kohli. The equipment has already been integrated into O2's network.
The firms revealed that if forthcoming trials prove successful, they will be extended to a larger number of people this summer "with the view to a commercial launch by early 2009."
The announcement marks a key milestone in the route to market for femtocell technology, which hit the headlines this time last year at 3GSM here in Barcelona.
"Since then I think we have made reasonable progress," said Kohli.
NEC is conducting trials with several other operators in Europe, which will be announced later this year. "We are almost towards the end of some of those trials," Kohli said, "[and we have] a long queue of trial requests."
The Japanese vendor is working with mobile operators worldwide on femtocell rollouts, and is particularly active in its home market and elsewhere in Asia.
"The first deployment may happen in Japan," said Kohli. The first commercial deployment in Europe is likely to be in October or November, he predicts; "maybe a few months earlier in Japan."
Analysts' predictions on the femtocell market vary. To quote one, ABI Research forecasts global shipments of 36 million units and a market valuation of $4.2 billion by 2012, with Europe accounting for 16.6 million units.
"This year it will be shipments in the order of 100,000, rather than several millions," Kohli predicts. "Any numbers of hundreds of thousands will be quite a success."