Sprint plans 3G femtocell before AT&T

View this article at: http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/07/02/sprint.3g.femtocell.soon/

Thursday, Jul 02, 2009 2:55pm

Sprint plans 3G femtocell before AT&T

Sprint this week staked its ground and claimed it would be the first US carrier to have a 3G femtocell. The company was already the first American firm to have any kind of femtocell in the Samsung Airave but now says to Unstrung that it should beat AT&T to having a device that can share 3G data with the home, improving reception for some smartphones and other devices that don't have their own Wi-Fi. Most current femtocells only boost voice service by creating a miniature cellular signal that pipes all data through a home Internet link.

No mention has been made of which company would make the femtocell or when it would be released. Samsung is a likely candidate, but Cisco currently makes AT&T's in-testing 3G femtocell. These newer devices normally add GPS to provide both location services as well as to prevent customers from abusing the femtocell outside of the carrier's coverage area.