Vodafone Tries to Break into Homes

UK-based global mobile operator Vodafone has announced it will undertake technical trials of 3G home-based, femtocell, base stations. The company said it wants to see how effectively the technology can deliver high-speed wireless data and voice services inside homes and businesses.

Vodafone will conduct the trials Spain using kit supplied by Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei.The plan is that should the trials prove successful, Vodafone will use the emerging technology to offer its customers highly targeted mobile data and voice services within the home or business environment.  The operator said it also wants to explore whether the deployment of femtocells could allow it to make savings through the provision of closely targeted 3G broadband coverage, using DSL technology to connect the customer to the core network.

The Vodafone announcement followed last week's news that O2 is to conduct a similar set of femtocell trials in the UK. The Spanish-owned operator will partner with Japanese technology giant NEC and Swindon-based Ubiquisys to launch a test run of the home base stations in Britain. Telefonica says it hopes for a commercial launch of femtocell services in early 2009. The O2 trials follow tests made in Madrid and the Czech Republic.