'We are looking at capturing a 30%-plus share for femtocells'

How will femtocells aid in 3G deployment?

While a data tsunami will occur with 3G, in-building penetration will be the most affected, creating a need to rely on the macro network more. Lessons from abroad have proven that traditional 3G deployment models have been ineffective in addressing 3G challenges-whereas femtocells have worked in Europe, with a call transferring network from outdoor to indoor, and seamless switching from macro to femtocell network. NEC is currently conducting trials for a 3G femtocell solution in India, and so far has tied up with one operator for the same. With an individual BTS inside the building, there would be less dependence on the macro network for indoor and outdoor use, the latter which will connect to the operator's core network through broadband, providing better coverage area. Moreover, this femtocell solution can co-exist with 2G technology, as well, giving opex and capex savings of 40-60%.

What are the chances for rural deployment?

In Japan, we are working with an operator to deploy femtocells in rural areas over a satellite network of 1 to 2 miles, and we will talk about this in India, as well, as an alternative to microwave backhaul, which can connect to existing satellites, due to its flat architecture, and femtocells will work on any IP network, thus being cost-effective and easy to deploy in rural area, where it will be used for the voice network.

What are some of the benefits to end-users?

Some of the benefits to end users are high-definition voice, no call drops, high data speeds, attractive VAS offerings, innovative 3G services, and more-which can be used indoors and connects outdoors to the macro network, as well. Some of the unique features are a self-organizing grid of femtocells offering multiple deployments with femto handover, managed services, femto to femto, femto to macro, and audible handover indicator. Femtocells can also evolve to LTE, and new femtocells will be introduced for LTE, although LTE will be deployed in small cell technology first.

What are NEC's India plans?

We are looking at capturing a 30%-plus share in the Indian market for femtocells. While microwave backhaul for mobile telephony is our biggest business, which we supply to all major operators, our femtocell business is new, and we will also look at developing cloud-based apps in the future. While in Japan, our biggest customer for femtocells is DOCOMO, TTSL is a major customer in India. We have a development center, with test labs in Delhi and service centers across India, and have recently opened a biometric excellence center in Bengaluru for home-based security, which is a new initiative. Besides this, we have also tied up with all Indian operators in rural areas as well, and have 60,000 hubs pan India.

Beryl M
berylm@cybermedia.co.in

Reliance First-Customer Interaction Program

Reliance Communications has initiated the 'Reliance First' program in Bengaluru. The main aim of the program is to understand and address customer queries and concerns regarding Reliance Communications service.

As part of the Reliance First initiative, the Reliance Communications team in Bengaluru will be meeting its customers under one roof. This will help in resolving issues and concerns on the spot, whether for wireless services or CDMA handsets of the customers. It will also act as a perfect platform for receiving feedback.