Could wireless service completely replace wireline in some scenarios? Perhaps it depends on just how fast internet broadband needs to be, and whether wireless can perform adequately at lower cost than wired or fibre connections.
Residential
New residential buildings still poorly equipped for cellular technology
I had the opportunity to witness what it’s like moving into a brand new tower block apartment in London recently where some relatives moved in. I was struck by the contrast between the high standard of basic services provision with the thoughtlessness of cellular service. The industry seems be getting distracted with 5G while simply ignoring the needs of its customers.
The dilemma choosing between 3G and LTE residential Femtocells
2015 promises to be the most successful year for residential femtocell shipments, with confident forecasts in the region of 3.5 to 4 million units shipped. We consider what's driving this market segment, the reasons behind strong demand for 3G and how the transition towards LTE will affect it.
TalkTalk's Inside-Out LTE femtocell
Martin Wren-Hilton tells me he's never had so much fun. His job as Head of Mobile Innovation at TalkTalk is to figure out how to squeeze a high quality mobile network service from a slither of previously unused spectrum. He presented at MWC on what's involved, their test results to date and how it could evolve.
Free shakes up the residential femtocell market in France
On Friday, Free commercially launched a residential femtocell module for their existing Freebox. This will capture 3G calls in the home, providing much better signal quality and offload traffic from macrocells. Since Free, a new mobile operator in France has to pay substantial annual roaming fees to France Telecom, the switch to residential femtocells has a strong business case for them too.
We've been reporting about this plan since two years ago, in July 2011, so it's nice to see it come to fruition, and clearly indicates a execution of a calculated long term strategy which could affect the industry worldwide.
We examine the business drivers, reveal who's behind the design and manufacturing, and consider whether this approach has the same potential to shake the telco industry up as have low cost airlines in the aviation sector.