White Papers
Femtocell Radio Technology
Femtocells are intelligent cellular access points that support any mobile device using standard cellular air interfaces, such as UMTS, CDMA2000 and LTE. They contain cellular radios that are tightly integrated with the existing macrocell radio network and thus create a seamless experience for mobile users as they move in and out of femtocell coverage, whether on an active call or in standby. Femtocells learn their radio frequency (RF) surroundings and use this information to self-optimize their operation. In particular, femtocells use their RF awareness to control interference between themselves and between femtocells and macrocells. This is achieved without requiring any modification to billions of mobile devices that are already in use. Femtocells also support access controls, whereby only users authorized by the femtocell owner are allowed to use it. This paper addresses these topics, and highlights some of the advanced radio solutions used in Airvana’s femtocell products.
Femtocell Network Architecture
Connecting femtocells to operator networks requires unique architectures that address the security needs of operators and mobile users and support the deployment of scalable femtocell networks that can serve millions of subscribers. The femtocell network architecture is also designed to allow ordinary consumers to install them with plug-and-play simplicity. Significant adaptive and self-organizing capabilities built into this architecture support zero-touch service activation by the user. Network architecture is also critical in supporting emergency calling, which can now be delivered to mobile devices inside buildings with the same reliability and accuracy as fixed-line emergency calling. This paper addresses these critical topics, presents alternative approaches that are used in femtocell products, and highlights some of the unique solutions used in Airvana femtocell products.
Femtocell Standardization
One of the key requirements for mass-market adoption of femtocells is standardization. This allows network operators to offer femtocell solutions from multiple vendors, thus driving competition and reducing prices. Airvana has been a strong advocate of rapid standardization of femtocells and holds a number of leadership positions in organizations such as the Femto Forum, 3GGP and 3GPP2 that are leading femtocell standardization. This paper addresses this topic and provides the current status of the standardization of femtocell technology.
Femtozone Applications and Services
Femtocells offer a new opportunity to enable innovative mobile phone applications and services in homes and offices by taking advantage of the unique relationship between the femtocell, the mobile device and the home and office network. This paper gives examples of these applications and shows how some of these capabilities are being enabled in Airvana femtocell solutions.
Advantages of Femtocells for Mobile Broadband Data Services
Early attention on femtocells has focused on how they can be used to improve voice services; however broadband data services are increasingly becoming a significant source of revenue for mobile operators. Airvana’s User Experience Labs has been conducting extensive field tests in advance of commercial deployments to characterize the data performance of the company’s HubBub™ femtocells in a wide variety of user environments. This white paper presents the results of these tests, and concludes that operators can expect to deliver greater than a 5x improvement in average data throughput by using femtocells to supplement their macro networks.
Femtocells: Transforming the Indoor Experience
This paper, published in 2007, provided an introduction to the femtocell concept, including definition, functions, benefits to consumers and operators. It describes basically how femtocells operate in the broader context of existing mobile networks and services.