GSM operators finally move ahead with femtos
Though CDMA operators both Sprint (NYSE:S) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ, NYSE:VOD) have moved ahead with femtocells, their GSM counterparts all of the world have been a bit more reluctant, preferring to wait until a standard was in place to begin large-scale service roll-out. Vodafone, however, overcame its reluctance this week, announcing it will begin selling its own home base station to customers in the UK in July. Meanwhile, AT&T confirmed its plans to launch its own MicroCell 3G femto program by the end of the year.
It wasn’t immediately clear though if either of those launches would be based on the new femtocell standard set by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project last April. The first, standards-compliant platforms have only just begun emerging, while both Vodafone and AT&T have been trialing for their products for several months. AT&T already has the service live in 3 pilot markets.
