Femtocells

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I live in a fairly rural part of the UK and although the area is supposed to have O2 coverage, it is in fact pretty dire here. I am tied onto o2 for another 13 months with my iPhone and unless something is done by o2 to sort the signal out I will be voting with my feet next June.
Last year o2 & vodafone trialled 'Femtocell' technology. This is an internet based plug in tx/rx device which is stand alone and provides internet based mobile phone coverage inside buildings where there is insufficient signal from normal sources. Vodafone have embraced it and people are now getting the full benefit of full 3G phone signal in their homes/offices.
Where is the o2 version?
I know I'm a little bitter having been a Vodafone customer for many years, leaving just before they announced that they were getting iPhone, but surely o2 are embracing this technology as the o2 signal outside major towns everywhere appears to be generally poorer than my previous provider.
Does anyone have any thought on this and does anyone know if there are any plans for Femtocell technology to appear on the o2 books in the near future?

[adamtemp64]

the full text you linked to says to the contary .

Installation or use of repeater devices (as with any radio equipment) is a criminal offence unless two conditions are satisfied:
1. That the equipment is CE marked, indicating that the manufacturer has declared it complies with all relevant EU regulatory requirements, including the Radio equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive;
2. That the use of the equipment is specifically authorised in the UK, either via a licence or by regulations made by Ofcom to exempt the use from licensing.

The position is that Ofcom has not made regulations exempting the use of any cellular repeater devices and so their unlicensed use remains illegal in the UK. Also, it is a criminal offence to place on the market or use non compliant R&TTE apparatus.

We are aware of the claims of some companies that, in their opinion, use of their apparatus is unlikely to involve undue interference, that their apparatus is R&TTE compliant and even that it should somehow qualify for exemption from licensing. However, as noted above, no such exemption has been made, for the reason that we have evidence that repeaters are likely to cause interference. We have investigated several instances where serious interference has resulted from the illegal use of repeaters.

Only the mobile network operators (MNOs) are licensed to use equipment that transmits in the cellular frequency bands. The cumulative effect of unplanned emitters in the spectrum would be to increase interference across systems and degrade the quality of network performance. We have agreed variations to the MNOs licences to facilitate the deployment of the femtocells and smart repeaters technologies that some operators are, or will shortly be, offering to their customers.

These are effectively low-power base stations that are directly controlled by the networks via wired or radio connections. An essential difference between these and conventional repeaters is that MNOs remain responsible to see that devices meet the technical requirements of their licences (under which authority they are operated), operate only in their own frequency range and do not interfere with other customers or systems in adjacent spectrum.

May 2011

For clarity

[ewanrw]

Well somebody had better inform Brightpoint UK they are selling illegal contraband, and let T-Mobile and Orange know they have authorised illegal equipment for use on their networks.
Silly mistake isn't it?
In all seriousness, people can make their own minds up, but please see the following links regarding the Cel-Fi RS2 (mentioned earlier)...
http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2010/09/dealer-sales-corner-cel-fi-coverage-product/

http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/635761

ewan

[Anonymous]

I am delighted to report that I have had an o2 Femtocell unit in my house now for nearly a week & it has transformed my iphone at home & ability to communicate. It is brilliant, works brilliantly.
I managed to get myself on the trial & apart from a mini hiccup when it was installed, to do with provisioning my box on the cellular network, it works as if you were living next door to a 3G mast. You'd never know it was coming through your broadband. In fact my broadband isn't that quick, I get average 3Mb download & arounf 300k upload & the unit still works without a single hitch. It is great to be able to send picture messages at home quickly over a 3G connection & it even works some distance from the house.
Thank you o2 my faith is restored, the unit is called a BOOSTBOX by Lucent Alcatel. It has a big o2 label on it. I think they are planning to go to the general public in the new year.
A very happy Greg

[Anonymous]

OK so how did you get on the trial?

[Anonymous]

I'd like to know how to get on this trial too..

[Anonymous]

Will this Femtocell boost 3G signal too? The 2G is fine in my area but 3G is pathetic/non-existent.

[adamtemp64]

Tattycakes no it creates a local 3G cell using home adsl

[Anonymous]

Well as long as it provides connection that's of a 3G speed/quality that's good enough for me!

[Anonymous]

So when will this be available ? Does anyone know ?

[perksie]

So when will this be available ? Does anyone know ?

No, it's being trialled until it proves it's reliability.