Sprint and AT&T both insist they will be the first to launch a femtocell service for 3G customers in the US. The service is a way of extending coverage around a home to improve inconsistent reception.

A femtocell is effectively a tiny base station which relays phone signals. It allows users to route their voice and date calls to the femtocell, which plugs into a home broadband connection. Though it can theoretically be a solution for homes with no network coverage, it’s mainly aimed at customers who have a weak signal which leaves them having to move around their home to get adequate reception.

AT&T is currently testing a system with around 200 customers, but plans to begin selling the device in a few cities soon as a marketing trial. The firm says it is on course for a “full national launch” before the end of the year.

Sprint isn’t setting a date, but insists it will be first to launch a “full commercial service”. Verizon hasn’t announced any firm plans, but it expected to launch its own 3G femtocell at some point.

None of the firms have given any indication of pricing. As a point of comparison Vodafone recently launched the first European femtocell, marketing the device in the UK under the name Access Gateway. The device costs approximately $265 a month to buy outright, $8 a month to rent, or free with a $25 a month service contract. Given that Vodafone doesn’t currently have any competition for the device in the UK market, you’d expect the prices from the US providers to be cheaper than this.

3G femtocells will be particularly welcome for service provicers as they reduce the strain on networks, which will become more important as people increase their use of data-hungry smartphones. However, they may be a tough sell as firms will have to answer accusations that they are effectively having the customer foot the bill for shortcomings in network coverage.

Entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm under AT&T, Sprint, Verizon.

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