Femtocell funding

Ubiquisys, a developer of 3G femtocells based in Swindon, UK, has secured $11m (£6.7m) in funding from its existing shareholders to help it commercially deploy its technology.

Femtocells are small cellular base stations designed for use in residential or small-business environments. They connect to a service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable) and typically support two to five mobile phones in a residential setting.

Ubiquisys femtocells feature real-time cognitive radio, which allows them to automatically adapt to changes in the radio environment. This eliminates real-world interference problems caused by neighbours installing femtocells or people moving their femtocell to different parts of the house, for example.

The Ubiquisys femtocell range also features the company's FemtoMesh technology: an ability that allows individual femtocells to form a self-organising grid, enabling companies to self install femtocells in a similar fashion to enterprise WiFi.

'The femtocell industry is about to enter a phase of aggressive growth,' said Chris Gilbert, chief executive officer of Ubiquisys. 'We have already seen the first major operator launches and the autumn will see a number of others unveiling their future plans.'

Earlier this year, Softbank introduced the world's first commercial 3G femtocell deployment using the Ubiquisys ZoneGate femtocell. The company has also secured partnerships with leading original equipment manufacturers in the sector, such as NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks and Netgear.