UK : Vip.access launched femto3G, a femtocell-based solution for providing optimal 3G voice and high-speed data (HSDPA) coverage within the home and small enterprise.

femto3G marks a radical step in taking the benefits of dedicated indoor coverage to the mass market and builds on ip.access' extensive experience in delivering cellular-over-IP systems to mobile carriers around the world. The key component of the system is the femto3G Access Point, a small low-cost consumer device that integrates into the operator's existing 3G radio access network using the customer's broadband connection to provide high quality low cost 3G services in the home.

femto3G is the basis for a pure-play cellular approach to enabling fixed-mobile convergence to serve both small enterprise and home access markets. It enables cellular operators to localise and control competitive tariffs for mobile calls in the home, while calls outside the home hand over seamlessly to 3G macro-network coverage and tariffs. femto3G is compatible with all existing 3G handsets, which means that subscribers can enjoy the benefits of high-speed data at home without the need for new dual-mode phones.

Stuart Carlaw, Principal Analyst, ABI Research, commented, "By 2011 there are forecast to be 102 million femtocell users. Femtocells look set to be an integral part of the operator push into fixed-mobile converged services whilst also providing considerable benefits in terms of in-building wireless coverage, capacity gain and shaping user behaviour."

Stephen Mallinson, CEO, ip.access, commented, "With the improved service quality enabled by femto3G and its low-cost architecture, ip.access is taking the lead in helping cellular operators to continue fixed-mobile substitution and accelerate 3G adoption in the residential market."

Based in Cambridge, UK, ip.access ltd (www.ipaccess.com) is a leading manufacturer of cost-effective picocellular GSM, GPRS and EDGE and 3G infrastructure solutions, which integrate with standard broadband IP networks for backhaul. ip.access systems are live in over 15 networks around the world and many more are in the process of being deployed.

The femto3G(TM) product range enables mobile network operators to provide improved residential 3G voice and data coverage and deliver a pure-play cellular approach to fixed-mobile convergence.

The nanoGSM® product range provides low-cost GSM coverage and capacity, to improve service quality in offices, shops and residential buildings. ip.access picocells can also provide coverage on passenger aircraft, ships and in remote rural areas using satellite backhaul.

ip.access counts Scottish Equity Partners, Intel Capital, Rothschild Gestion and Motorola among its shareholders.

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