Picochip, a company based out of England that designs femtocells and is backed by both AT&T and Intel, have announced a new product that they say will enable the creation of a 3G base station that fits onto a USB stick. Femtocells, for those who have no idea what I’m talking about, are like tiny cell towers that you can use to increase coverage inside your home by simply plugging them into your broadband connection. Considering most people use their smartphone either at work or while relaxing on their couch, femtocells make sense since they offload traffic that would otherwise have to travel over the cellular network. Costs have come down dramatically since first brought to market, and now Picochip is saying that in a matter of months they’ll be able to produce a USB femtocell for around $50.
“The last year has shown just how versatile femtocell technology is. We believe that giving our customers the ability to put a femtocell on a USB dongle enables huge opportunities for Picochip, network equipment suppliers, makers of consumer products and service providers. It’s part of our vision for driving the market forward. And for end users, access to enhanced cellular services will become as simple as plugging in a USB key.” – Rupert Baines, Vice President of Marketing at Picochip.
The only problem with femtocells are that operators have yet to figure out a business model that works. AT&T has what they call a Microcell, pictured above, but they charge $150 for it and then you pay for your minutes like you usually would, or then pay $50 and have unlimited minutes for calls made via the Microcell for $20/month. Sounds fair, until people start complaining that there’s no coverage in their home to begin with, so they should get a femtocell for free.
We just want better coverage, and of course the cheaper the better.