Communications Crossroads - Winter 2007 - (Page 22)

services indoors, operators can reduce churn and improve customer satisfaction. Different carriers will care for different reasons, Shaw says. Mobile carriers are interested in improving customer satisfaction and reducing churn, as well as in accelerating ﬁ xed-to-mobile substitution. For a ﬁxed carrier, the FMC aspect is a potential threat to ﬁ xed line voice revenues. Integrated carriers need to decide long term what network is going to handle in-home voice, the ﬁ xed network or the mobile network. “I don’t think anyone doubts that in 10 years, people are going to talk on their mobiles more and the ﬁ xed lines less.” Still a Work in Progress Shaw notes two minuses. The ﬁrst is that femtocells are very early technology. “Femtocells are only running in controlled lab networks today.” He says no one is really sure what will happen if an apartment complex ends up with three or four of these, plus the macro radio network. How will they work together? The second issue, says Shaw, is the cost—likely $200 through 2008. “That’s a pretty substantial capital investment for ‘improved coverage’ and ‘free calling.’ The business case needs to be considered.” Franks admits that femtocells offered real technological challenges initially, but says that now they are easy for the end-user. If a consumer has a connection to broadband, via a router or any other way, they’re ready, he says. He agrees with the price, at $200 to $250, but suggests carriers could imbed it with other services. Collins says their goal is to offer a device in the $100 to $200 range, purchased directly from the carrier, a retailer such as Best Buy, that can be plugged in easily. “There will be very little provisioning required,” he says. He says monthly charges will depend on market strategy, and will differ between mobile carriers and integrated providers. Battle for the Building Shaw says there is a “battle for the building” underway—a battle for how people make calls indoors. If a consumer wants to make a call at home, there are three likely options: the traditional ﬁxed line, an alternative VoIP option (Skype, Vonage, even Comcast) or a mobile phone. Mobile carriers are looking to win this battle through the “home zone 2.0,” in-home calling packages akin to T-Mobile’s offer—with discounted calling plans based around cheap indoor calling, leveraging the Internet to lower transport costs. Femtocells and/or WiFi will be the in-home wireless technology. “We believe that mobile operators will end up using both technologies because each has different strengths and weaknesses,” Shaw says. He notes that Kineto makes products that conform to UMA (universal mobile access), the protocol that mobile operators use to connect devices in the home back to the mobile core. “We really don’t care if an operator decides to use a femtocell or WiFi in the home; we have a play either way.” Tatara provides software on the network side, says Collins. “It’s a network integration solution to connect to the Internet; ours uses a SIP connection. Rural cell phone operators will have to offer femtocells. With femtocells, customers won’t need a land line, unless that’s how they connect to broadband,” Collins says. Collins says femtocells’ upside for telecoms is their potential to drive more mobile minutes—but that might well come at the expense of their landline business. However, “Telecom operators will want to do this even if it cannibalizes their landline business. And since it’ll be mostly self-funded by users, operators will only have a small investment.” Ultimately, Collins believes femtocells are on their way. “If the price is right compared to a landline and a customer needs coverage at home, they’ll want femtocells,” Collins says. For over 25 years AECI has been providing quality products and customer service to the component, semiconductor and telecommunications industries. AECI offers one of the largest in-stock selections available to our customers assuring your success through customer satisfaction and product integrity. To learn more about AECI’s quality and service call 1.973.402.8282 ext. 115 or visit our website at www.aeciusa.com 22 COMMUNICATIONS CROSSROADS www.ustelecom.org http://www.ustelecom.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Communications Crossroads - Winter 2007

Communications Crossroads Winter 2007 Up Front Contents Cover Story: Billing Redux Business Advantages: Reaching Consumers with Special Needs Technology Today: Femtocells: The Jury’s Still Out Industry Calendar Index to Advertisers TELECOMPAC

Communications Crossroads - Winter 2007

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