190 million Fixed/Mobile Convergence users by 2013

There'll be over 190 million people using converged fixed/mobile services by 2013, according to Informa Telecoms and Media - and 46% of these will be using femtocells. [Source: Telecoms.com]

T-Mobile launches UK femtocell trial

T-Mobile is running a femtocell trial in the UK, Germany and Poland, according to a report on Unstrung.com.

Mobile data comes home

Within the next five years, more than half of all mobile data is expected to be generated at home. New research from Informa Telecoms & Media says 40% of last year's mobile data traffic was generated at home but it's expected to reach 58% by 2013. Voice usage at home is also expected to increase, from 42% in 2008 to 49% in 2013. [Source: Telecoms.com]

3G femtocells to be launched commercially

There's been a lot of talk recently about femtocells: tiny base stations that boost your mobile phone coverage at home by connecting to your broadband service. Well, Japanese network SoftBank is about to be the first service provider to launch 3G femtocells commercially. It's launching in January next year, although pricing hasn't been confirmed. And yes, it really is the world's first 3G femtocell service. American network Sprint announced femtocells for some customers a few months ago but only for voice calls. [Source: Telecoms.com]

40 million femtocells in 2013

Informa Telecoms & Media says there'll be over 40 milion femtocells worldwide by the end of 2013, with 22 million added during 2013. As a result, up to 8% of total mobile traffic could be travelling via customers' own fixed-line connections - and networks could save $5.3bn or more in infrastructure costs. [Source: Telecoms.com]

Femtocell standard agreed

International industry association The Femto Forum says its 84 members have agreed a standard for managing femtocells at customer premises. They'll be using the Broadband Forum's TR-069 "CPE WAN Management Protocol", which is already standard on around 30 million devices worldwide. [Source: Press release via TMCnet.com]

Europeans want femtocells... once they understand them

40% of Europeans would be interested in buying a femtocell in 2009 to improve mobile coverage at home, according to a survey conducted by ABI Research for Motorola. Over three-quarters of respondents didn't know what femtocells were but many became interested once the technology was explained. The highest response was from Poland, where 67% of respondents said they would definitely or probably buy a femtocell within the next 12 months. The response in the UK was 34%. [Sources: Telecoms.com; silicon.com]

France's SFR could launch Europe's first 3G femtocell service

Unstrung.com says that France's SFR could be the first European network to launch a 3G femtocell service, letting customers improve their 3G coverage at home by providing a mini-cellsite linked to their broadband connection. The service could be launched in a few months with help from fixed-line operator Neuf Cegetel, which is 40.5% owned by SFR. Neuf Cegetel is currently France's second-largest broadband provider (behind Orange), while SFR is the country's second-largest mobile network (again, behind Orange).

O2 trials femtocells in UK

O2 is working with NEC Europe to test the use of femtocells in the UK. Femtocells are low-powered base stations that connect to a home broadband service, offering improved coverage indoors. Testing started this month, with plans for expansion this summer and a commercial launch in 2009. NEC says up to 70-80% of 3G voice and services are used indoors, making femtocells a practical solution to coverage problems. Vodafone has announced a similar trial, working with Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei in Spain. [O2 press release; Vodafone press release]