Indoor base station (femtocell and picocell) research from Sound Partners

Indoor base stations - commonly referred to femtocells and picocells - may revolutionise the mobile industry. We specialise in this exciting new technology, to understand the commercial impact and opportunities from femtocells and picocells. We:

  • identify the key issues that need to be resolved to make indoor base stations viable
  • assess the business case for indoor base stations in the consumer and enterprise markets
  • define compelling services propositions
  • identify the key segments that can be successfully targeted
  • compare indoor base stations against other approaches (e.g. home zone tariffs, UMA services using dual-mode handsets, and network sharing).

Featured article related to femtocells and picocells
Read our featured article: Operators need a viable business case for femtocell deployment

An increasing number of mobile operators are investigating the opportunities presented by widespread deployment of 3G indoor base stations, known as femtocells. However, such deployments would require a large initial capital investment, so the risks are high and success is not a foregone conclusion. Many operators are focusing on the technical challenge of integrating potentially millions of femtocells into their mobile networks, but they must not overlook the need for a viable business case.   More...

Full list of articles related to femtocells and picocells

Is there a business case for femtocells
Awareness of femtocells is being heightened by new products, early deployments in the USA and the enthusiasm of leading mobile network operators, but the business case for femtocells still needs to be defined. The concept of indoor base stations has captured the imagination of mobile network operators, who are keen to drive up voice and non-voice ARPU, because the technology promises to provide significantly better 3G indoor coverage in a targeted and relatively inexpensive way. More...

Femtocells set to have major impact on the mobile industry
3G indoor base stations – commonly referred to as femtocells – are an exciting new technology that could have far-reaching consequences for the wireless industry, if mobile operators deploy them widely. Femtocells could not have arrived at a better time for the mobile industry. The trend towards fixed–mobile substitution is gathering pace in many countries, and people are increasingly using mobile phones in their homes and workplaces. More...

Operators need a viable business case for femtocell deployment
An increasing number of mobile operators are investigating the opportunities presented by widespread deployment of 3G indoor base stations, known as femtocells. However, such deployments would require a large initial capital investment, so the risks are high and success is not a foregone conclusion. Many operators are focusing on the technical challenge of integrating potentially millions of femtocells into their mobile networks, but they must not overlook the need for a viable business case. To be successful, operators will need to create compelling consumer propositions that are targeted towards the most appropriate segments. More...

Femtocells: the compelling case for indoor base stations
Small, low-cost indoor base stations, often referred to as picocells and femtocells, could present the opportunity for mobile operators to make a radical departure from their traditional cellular network architectures. The prospect of substantial cost savings and new service opportunities from this change is generating intense interest in the mobile industry and a growing number of companies are now developing products. Of all the wireless technologies that have been hyped in recent years, indoor base stations could be the one that really does have far-reaching consequences. More...

Mobile operators should offer fixed broadband
Given diminishing mobile voice revenues and a failure to achieve significant growth in mobile non-voice revenues, bundling fixed broadband with existing mobile services is an immediate opportunity for revenue growth for mobile operators and can also be an effective means of combating churn. Furthermore, operation of a fixed broadband connection may be advantageous if new network architectures based on picocells and femtocells are deployed. More...