Femtocells as Accelerators of Next-Generation Networks
June 30, 2008
Silicon.com has a piece today on the ability of femtocell technology to speed the adoption of next-generation services, such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and WiMax (the most serious competitor to LTE).
Femtocells are smaller versions of towers and antennas that deliver radio signals to and from cellular telephones, wireless PDAs, and data cards in laptops. These signals contain the data of your voice conversations, SMS messages, email, and web traffic. Whereas a typical cell site deployed by a cellular service provider can range in price from $50,000 to $250,000, femtocells cost a fraction of that amount, and can be installed in an enterprise or even inside a home. This technology had been out of reach for years as the price was prohibitive for almost all but the largest enterprises.
The article argues that because the costs have dropped so much, next-generation service providers can issue new customers an end-point device (such as a PDA or wireless card) as well as a femtocell device at the same time. This enables service providers to build coverage when and where they need it - driven only by customer adoption.
However, the story misses some of the point in its focus only on next-generation networks. Strata8, an OMV client, uses femtocell technology to build coverage of enterprise cellular networks on licensed spectrum. Not WiMax or LTE - but traditional cellular services. Because Strata8 provides coverage only where its customers are, the costs of building a network are substantially reduced. And this savings is passed on to its subscribers. And, because femtocell networks can be built on an all-IP platform, additional services that integrate “desktop voice” and “cellular voice” nearly seamlessly.
The rise in popularity of femtocells is an exciting development for our industry. But let’s not forget that the applications apply more more broadly than to next-generation transmission networks. Femtocells can just as easily build next generation network topologies utilizing existing, tried and true, transmission technologies.
PodCamp Seattle 2008
June 23, 2008
Last Saturday, I had the chance to speak at Podcamp Seattle, organized in party by my friend Eric Weaver of Edelman Digital. It was great to see such a positive turnout on a weekend day when the sun was shining, and the Fremont Solstice parade was taking place just a few miles away from the University of Washington.
I spoke on the topic on Social Media and Public Relations, which seemed to me like a bit of a broad topic, but it came together fairly well as a topical and interesting subject to research and discuss. A copy of my presentation can be downloaded here.
The other thing to add about the un-conference, as it was billed, was the amount of content that was created almost instantly to the content presented at the sessions. Attendees were asked to record, in any form possible - photo, video, audio, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. - the sessions and the opinions of the audience. Just Google podcampseattle and you’ll see the power of tagging and instant content development and publishing.
Strata8 Enterprise Cellular - Part 2
June 9, 2008
On Message Ventures produced a lunch seminar for client Strata8 Networks in Seattle last week, titled “Controlling Enterprise Wireless Expenditures”. The below video is Dr. Gerry Purdy, VP of Research, Mobile and Wireless, of Frost & Sullivan explaining to a group of executives the current state of the wireless communications industry.
Strata8 Enterprise Cellular - Part 1
June 9, 2008
On Message Ventures produced a lunch seminar for client Strata8 Networks in Seattle last week, titled "Controlling Enterprise Wireless Expenditures". The below video is Andrew Wilson, EVP of Strata8, explaining to a group of executives the most effective methods of controlling and reducing enterprise cellular expenses.