Singapore telco, StarHub, has announced it will begin femtocell trials for a pre-selected group of consumer customers next week.
Some 200 customers will trial the technology over the next six months. Femtocells are portable access points which transmit cellular traffic over the user's broadband connection to improve indoor phone coverage and potentially lower voice tariffs.
The femtocells will connect 3G and 3.5G mobile devices to the operator's mobile network.
Anil Nihalani, head of mobile services, StarHub, said in a statement: "We will be evaluating the effectiveness of this new technology in delivering 3G and 3.5G mobile services--voice and video calls, as well as SMS, MMS and data services--within the home environment. This trial will enable us to determine whether femtocell technology is a viable technology for use in Singapore."
A spokesperson for the telco said the technology's viability will be determined through gathering customer feedback. The telco is not planning to extend the trial to business customers as yet.
StarHub in February remained vague on whether it was deploying femtocell technology, in response to a ZDNet inquiry, but has now confirmed that Huawei and ZTE base stations will be deployed for the trial.
Telecoms analysis firm, Analysys, said in a previous report femtocells may help mobile operators hang onto voice revenues from customers thinking of switching to VoIP. By offering cheaper price plans for cellular calls made within the home via femtocells, customers could be persuaded to stick to their cellular networks.
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