ip.access shows off a highly portable femtocell for home and enterprise use

Leading femtocell and picocell solution provider ip.access has showcased a working concept of a small and neat femtocell, called the Advanced Femtocell Concept (AFC). As per ip.access, unlike all other product concepts, AFC is a working concept and it is fully functional. The concept is to realize an extra small femtocell that you can place anywhere in your house or office for high speed network connectivity to a set of Wi-Fi enabled devices.

ip.access' portable femtocell

What makes AFC special apart from its “fully working” feature is that it is highly portable and has the size of only an iPhone. Moreover, adding to its flexibility, the device can be connected with internet using Wi-Fi rather than the conventional fixed connection. It means users can carry the new femtocell from house to office to use high speed internet on various devices including phones, tablets and PCs.

Besides Wi-Fi, AFC comes with integrated GPS. The feature will help operators spot where their femtocells are placed. The regulatory feature is highly useful in countries like the U.S.A, says ip.access. Moreover, thanks to GPS, service providers can lock out users from carrying their femtocells out of the country in their holidays. It is illegal to use a service provider’s spectrum in a foreign country.

Ultimately, GPS capability lets operators put some regulations over the use of femtocell. According to ip.access, GPS location feature will allow operators to prevent use of femtocell in regions that are not covered by its spectrum license. It is actually a great feature that will help cellular service providers across the world, especially in the U.S., says ip-access’ brief on the device.

Regarding the availability of ip.access’ femtocell on market, the company CTO Dr. Nick Johnson says it won’t soon appear in stores. Moreover, it will not appear on market as it is in the concept. There will have some more changes to the design and form of the femtocell when it realizes, he says. Of course, we will be getting a more flexible and portable femtocell that will help us keep connected to the internet on a set of products including smartphones and tablets. Johnson further adds the femtocell will appear inside several next generation products from ip.access.

As of now, AFC requires to be plugged in with a power outlet if it is not connected with a home router. Hopefully, in future, the device will come up with battery, thus users won’t have to worry about finding a power outlet once it is not connected to a router. Finally, we highlight some important features of AFC. It will be known for its compact antenna solution, solid form factor and high portability and flexibility.

Via: Mobileeurope