Hotspots for Cellphones

Hotspots for Cellphones

Posted by samc on April 2nd, 2007

Suddenly femtocells are popping up everywhere. Femtocell Access Points provide voice and data services of a normal cellular base station, but with the deployment simplicity of a WiFi access point. These hotspots for cellphones work inside the home — with your cellphone. Wi-Fi has nothing to do with it.

Samsung’s UbiCell is plug-and-play hotspot for cell phones. You plug it into a DSL line. The base station is a CDMA base station and works with your cell phone to provide in-home cellular service.

PhoneScoop says Sprint is trialing the CDMA version of UbiCell, and plans to launch it in early 2008. A 3G version (for AT&T cell phones) is also in the works.

Samsung’s UbiCell allows users to eliminate the need for a landline phone. With guaranteed in-home service, users will no longer have to pay for separate landline charges for basic features such as long distance, voice mail, caller ID and call waiting. Carriers can also offer differentiated services and provides an opportunity to increase revenue.

UbiCell automatic configures itself. It uses any broadband internet connection (xDSL or Cable Modem) or Ethernet connection. After installation, the UbiCell will locate and register with the Management.

The picoChip Node B software reference design provides a modem that is fully compliant to 3GPP Rel5 2005-06 (FDD) for four users with a 200 m range, and supports 7 Mbps high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA).

Cell phone boosters like the Spotwave Z1900, are geared for homes and small offices of up to 2,500 square feet. They act like repeaters. A cellphone’s signal will be boosted if the phone is within six to 12 feet of the indoor antenna. With the wired version, the 20-foot cable must be coupled to the phone.

The zBoost zP is a low-power version intended for single users in small spaces and for on-the-go use in hotel rooms. The device is designed to lower the incidence of dropped or missed calls from interior locations where cellular signals might not be reliable.

They can be used with any U.S. carriers’ phones except Nextel phones. The zP is available in a wired version for $99 and a wireless version for $149, while the higher powered indoor models retailing at $299 and $399. The SpotCell 2500Xe ($3000) is a high-power, dual-band system for broader coverage, providing GSM, CDMA, 1xRTT EVDO, UMTS and HSDPA support.