A happy marriage of Wi-Fi and 3G: integrated devices the future for residential femtocells

By Robert Mackinnon, NETGEAR

This week, we joined forces with Alcatel-Lucent and Broadcom to launch an integrated Wi-Fi and Small Cell router with Femtocell technology. We believe that by bringing femtocell technology into an established fixture in the living room (or study or back bedroom), could boost femtocell usage substantially. Service providers are clearly signalling a need for integrated devices to complement standalone femtocell access points.

The idea of combining WiFi, femtocell, router and DSL modem in a single box was first introduced by NETGEAR in 2008, however, in the early days of femtocell deployments, service providers weren’t prepared to deploy this kind of solution. Recent key indicators suggest that the time is right to reintroduce this gateway solution as their fixed line and mobile teams are now combining strategies, breaking down the silos between them. This single solution can be used to encourage customers with DSL broadband to adopt mobile services and vice versa; an effective cross sell enabler.

Sell mobile services by stealth

Aspects such as cost, demographics, customer penetration and local market dominance determine how the service provider will position this solution. For example, we may see them offer two tiers: a basic DSL modem with one Ethernet port and perhaps WiFi for their least profitable customers for their lowest tier, and a DSL modem that has four Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi, firewall and 3G for their higher tiers.  With broadband and mobile “home-zone” services combined, this device can become a hub to all voice and data activity enhancing the service provider’s stickiness, driving higher customer satisfaction with further service upselling potential.

It is conceivable that service providers may consider replacing their router portfolios to use this as a de facto premium solution, enabling the mobile part when needed. Should the customer subscribe to the mobile service later on, the built-in femtocell can be activated remotely via TR-069 management; resulting in simpler portfolio management and higher customer penetration of Femtocell technology in the home.

Reduced management headache

Boosting in-home coverage with two boxes (3^rd party Wi-Fi router and a separate Femtocell access point) is the present-day approach, but this method isn’t particularly elegant, nor is it easy to manage from a service provider’s perspective. The subscriber has to install the Femtocell access point themselves which may result in a support call or at best, the installation works but isn’t clear to the service provider how the femtocell access point is connected and to which router port. Example: Are they connecting it directly or via a long cable to somewhere else in the home? Is the cable supportable or guaranteed?

Powering two boxes is inconvenient to the user, especially if there are not enough power sockets available. USB power from the router is one approach to address this; however minimum criteria needs to be met, complicating matters further for the service provider’s portfolio as multiple vendors may be involved. In addition, there may not be traffic management techniques supported, necessary for a trouble free and high quality service – especially in periods of high broadband traffic consumption.

Quality of service guarantees

With everything integrated into a single gateway, there will be no ambiguity as to how data flows from the device to the core network. Quality of Service can be guaranteed through the femtocell port, like a virtual circuit into the DSL network. In most cases, DSL services are already set up with permanent virtual circuit (PVC): one for general Internet data, one for voice and one for IPTV. A new channel for mobile voice could be routed directly onto the mobile core, while the mobile data is routed with the Internet data; otherwise known as data offload.

In addition, service providers will better understand the home network topology, device status and configuration, providing more relevant customer support when needed. This solution helps service providers look beyond small cell technology as a simply remedy for poor coverage in the home. Tiered “home-zone” pricing brings together the fixed line broadband and mobile subscriber tariffs for voice (home or mobile), data and IPTV together with firewall security, media distribution and attached storage capability.

As the thirst for data consumption continues to grow, the business case for small cell femtocells in the home becomes more relevant. We can all agree, the high growth of personal mobile devices together with M2M solutions from utility and security suppliers entering the household puts greater emphasis on a single manageable gateway or “Hub” that connects a wide variety of devices via USB, Wi-Fi, Mobile and Ethernet. We believe the small cell gateway enables service providers to realistically step in that direction

Further details of Netgear’s fully integrated small cells home gateway can be found at NETGEAR.com’s website.

Robert Mackinnon Product Line Manager – Mobile Broadband, NETGEAR.

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