Where can I buy a femtocell

Written by David Chambers.

Modified on20 May 2021

Looking to buy your own femtocell? We've listed the known network operators who actively sell these, together with links to their websites where you can read about their offers.

Many offers have been withdrawn by operators and are listed in magenta.

This list is mainly residential femtocells. Some network operators offer femtocells to their business customers and don't list these on their websites. Others may provide them only to customers who complain or are about to leave. In some cases, the product is supplied free to higher value customers.

Residential Femtocells - for domestic or SOHO (Single Office/Home Office) use

Network	Country	Brand Name (and link to website)	Purchase Price	Monthly Fee	Requires wireline broadband from same supplier	Femtocell vendor	Comments
AT&T	USA	3G Microcell	$159	0		ip.access/ Cisco	Nationwide where ATT owns spectrum
China Mobile	China	H-Zone					Believed to be discontinued. Previously up to 10,000 commercially deployed in Suzhou. Uses TD-SCDMA 3G standard, rarely used outside China Mobile
China Unicom	China	3G Inn				Huawei	Mostly deployed in enterprises. Believed to have been discontinued.
Cosmote	Greece	Perfect Signal	€90	0	No	Huawei	Probably discontinued - no mention on website
KDDI	Japan	au Femtocell	Free		Yes	Airvana (now CommScope)	Probably discontinued - no mention on website
MTS	Russia	Sure Reception	0	$15	No	NEC/ Ubiquisys	Optional inclusive calls for $12/month. Larger 16 channel unit for $60/month
MoldTelecom	Moldovia	Femtocell Unite	Lei 1699 (approx 100 Euro)	0	Yes	Huawei	Discontinued
Mosaic	Wisconsin, USA	Homecell	Free to $200	$10		Ubiquisys/ NSN	Probably discontinued - no mention on website
NTT DoCoMo	Japan	My Area	¥2100	¥980	Yes	Mitsubishi	Probably discontinued - no mention on website
Optimus	Portugal	Sinal On	€ 99	€7.80	Yes	Huawei	Discontinued
Optus (Yes)	Australia	Homezone	0	AUS$5-10	No	Alcatel-Lucent	System switched off June 2017
Orange	Poland	Ekstra Sygnal	zl 150 (US$40)	zl19 then zl50	No	Alcatel-Lucent	Probably discontinued. No longer mentioned on website.
SFR	France	Home 3G	0	0	No	Ubiquisys (now Cisco)	€49 one-off price refunded on activation. Still advertised although Cisco have end-of-lifed the product.
Softbank	Japan	Femtocell	Free	Free		Ubiquisys (now Cisco)	Free in areas of poor coverage. Free DSL provided if no broadband installed. 2 year postpaid subscription to mobile service. Sales to new customers ended June 2018, existing customers continue to be supported
Sprint	USA	Airave	$99	$5	No	Alcatel-Lucent	3G CDMA discontinued. Airave 4 (4G version) launched May 2019 supports 8 voice calls and up to 14 LTE sessions.
Telefonica (Movistar)	Spain	Mi Cobertura Movil		€ 9	Yes	Huawei/ Alcatel-Lucent	Discontinued.
T-Mobile	USA	Personal Cellspot			No	Alcatel-Lucent (now Nokia)	Multimode 3G/4G 16 user. $25 deposit, rental fees not stated on website.
Verizon	USA	Network Extender	$249	0	No	Samsung	3G CDMA. Discontinued
Vodafone	Czech	Private 3G Zone	$170	0	No	Alcatel- Lucent (Nokia)	Same solution as other Vodafone group properties
Vodafone	Greece	Full Sima	€90	0		Sagemcom	Free to higher spending customers
Vodafone	Hungary	Mini Bazis	Forint 29,900 +VAT (Approx US$160)	0	No	Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia)	Larger Enterprise Femtocell also available
Vodafone	Ireland	Sure Signal	€99	0		Alcatel-Lucent	Discontinued for new customers
Vodafone	Italy	Booster Privati	€129	0	No	Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia)	€89 for ADSL Vodafone customers
Vodafone	Netherlands	SignaalPlus	€85	0	No	Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia)	Probably discontinued. No longer shown on website.
Vodafone	New Zealand	Sure Signal	NZ$ 199	0	Yes	Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia)	Min 2Mbps internet broadband for backhaul recommended.
Vodafone	Portugal	Sinal Max	€149	0	No	Alcatel- Lucent (Nokia)	Up to 4 users Withdrawn from public website
Vodafone	Spain	Voz y Datos Premium	Free	€ 15	Yes	(Huawei)	Withdrawn (only available to enterprise customers)
Vodafone	UK	Sure Signal	£69	0	No	Sagemcom	Withdrawn during 2021

Comments

#1 Simon said:

Hey, I'm interested in getting a femtocell, but I wanted to get a femtocell that worked on all cellular networks. I read on your site that there probably may not be a femtocell with dual-mode, so does that mean I need to get a femtocell for each cellular network (GSM, CDMA...etc)?

Also I wanted to know do femtocells have software/firmwa re that go along with them?

0 Quote 2015-07-05 18:24

#2 ThinkSmallCell said:

@Simon: Femtocells are locked to a single cellular network, so yes you do have to get a separate femtocell for each network. Dual mode are still tied to a single network but can support both 3G and LTE modes. They do come with everything you need including software that is automatically updated and configured by your network operator - just plug it in and go.

+2 Quote 2015-09-03 16:13

#3 WPCJ said:

I use Straight Talk cell phones but am on Sprint 3G CDMA. Because I did not buy my phones at Sprint, Sprint will not sell me a Femtocell. Is there a way around this. I live in a dead zone and need a good signal. Please help.

0 Quote 2015-10-12 17:20

#4 ThinkSmallCell said:

@WPCJ: It does sound like you could really do with a femtocell. Perhaps you could discuss with your Sprint retail store or call centre whether there's anyway around this, which might involve taking out a larger contract or contributing towards its cost. Threatening to leave sometimes helps but you have to be prepared to go through with that, although without an adequate service it seems less than worthwhile. Don't give up - it's great technology when you have one.

+1 Quote 2015-10-21 12:39

#5 DR said:

I've got a Cisco Residential Signal Box (USC3331) bought from EE in the UK - is it possible to change the firmware or reconfigure so that I can use it with T-Mobile in Germany ?

-1 Quote 2017-01-01 12:47

#6 ThinkSmallCell said:

@DR: Highly unlikely. These units are tightly configured for each operator and the unique serial number will identify which home network they belong to. The software and configuration are directly controlled by the network operator, and the potential support cost to adopt an unknown product from elsewhere is likely to be much higher than simply providing a new unit.

0 Quote 2017-01-09 08:51

#7 Ziad said:

Let's say I have a working Vodafone UK femtocell. Would it still work abroad or are femtocells geo locked to work from UK internet IPs only?

0 Quote 2017-01-26 17:20

#8 shane said:

i am currently researching for something like this and any information that you can provide would be awesome to make my life easier. i am after some sort of femtocell thingy that can be used in the philipines and the mobile signal that is currently in the area that i will be living in is patchy to non exsistant so any information that anyone can provide would be awesome. i need to have mobile, internet, wifi connections if possible. thanks.

+1 Quote 2017-02-12 00:44

#9 James said:

I am looking for a femtocell LTE that supports local breakout. I have a hard time finding out what products support this feature.
Any recommendation?

0 Quote 2017-05-26 16:58

#10 Mike said:

I have straight talk iPhone 5s that runs off Verizon cell towers. I live in a remote area and my signal is weak in or around my house. Is there a femtocell that I can install at my house?

+1 Quote 2018-07-19 00:05

#11 Ernest said:

T-MO has a Cellspot that is Free to a subscriber. The only stipulation is that if you leave T-mo, use must send it back or there is a fee. I have one and I used to get one bar everywhere in my house and with the Cellspot the worst reception I get is three bars. People said I sounded like I was in a tunnel, now no one says anything bad. It does use it's own power and it connects into your router, so your internet provider may have to help you to set it up (mine did-Spectrum).

+1 Quote 2018-08-04 01:25

#12 Daniel said:

Huawei discontinued their 3G Femtocells solution, not selling more Femto Access Points. One of the listed operators is deploying (now) Nokia's 3G/4G solution.

0 Quote 2020-02-14 15:14

#13 Rob said:

Vodaphone Uk "We’re retiring Sure Signal from our network throughout 2021"
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/network/calling-features/sure-signal

0 Quote 2021-05-15 07:13

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