Femtocell

Femtocells are low-cost, low-power wireless access points that operate in licensed spectrum to connect standard mobile devices to a mobile operator’s network using residential DSL or cable broadband connections.

Femtocells enable the mobile operator to extend coverage, increase capacity and provide new services in areas where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable, such as in buildings or rural areas. Femtocells improve service and coverage without the major costs involved in deploying fixed infrastructure (antennas, base stations, etc.), while also decreasing backhaul costs since mobile traffic is routed over the IP network.

Unlike WiFi-based solutions which require dual-mode handsets, Femtocells enable operators to offer Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) services based on subscribers' regular 3G phones.

Percello's cutting-edge Femtocell silicon products can be used to power residential, enterprise and outdoor Femtocell applications for UMTS/HSPA+ and LTE networks. Percello's dedicated Femtocell SoC products enable cost-effective deployments, with maximum coverage and optimal carrier-grade performance.

Residential Femtocell

Using Percello's Aquilo PRC6000 baseband processor, CPE vendors can offer a cost-effective, high performance Femtocell solution for the residential market. Residential femtocells enable mobile operators to extend service coverage inside the home without additional investment in 3G network infrastructure. As a result, operators can leverage femtocells to offer convergent, homezone services that combine voice, high-speed data and even video, while users enjoy advanced services from their standard 3G handset.

Serving up to eight (8) simultaneous active users, PRC6000 can serve as the central processor in a standalone Femtocell or as an integrated subsystem element for a residential gateway (RGW) system that may also include WiFi, DSL and phone ports.

The only fully integrated SoC for UMTS/HSPA+ Femtocells, PRC6000 delivers the richest feature set and the lowest BOM in the industry. Using Percello's SoC, CPE vendors can offer a cost-effective and high performance Femtocell for homes and small offices.

Enterprise Femtocell

Percello's high performance Aquilo PRC6500 enables the deployment of low-cost Femtocells for enterprises. The enterprise Femtocell lets business users take advantage of high-quality 3G services in the office, while improving in-building coverage, accelerating data rates and substantially cutting communication costs.

Serving up to 16 simultaneous active users, PRC6500 is the industry's highest capacity baseband processor for UMTS/HSPA+ Femtocells. Its robust performance, high speed data rates and extended cell range are optimized to meet the demanding needs of enterprise applications.

Enterprises of all sizes can take advantage of Percello's low-cost, high performance Femtocell solution to support 3G services. The enterprise Femtocell can be deployed in a modular and scalable manner to meet the coverage needs of any business space. Additional low-cost Femtocells may be deployed, as needed, to support the requirements of larger corporations.

Since numerous Femtocells may be required depending on the layout of the building and the number of enterprise users, the 16-user PRC6500 significantly reduces the total solution cost to the enterprise. By lowering mobile communication costs within the enterprise, the Femtocell solution allows enterprises to gain immediate ROI.

Rural

Due to their low cost and easy deployment, Femtocells are becoming a viable and cost-effective alternative to traditional mobile networks in remote rural areas with little or no terrestrial network infrastructure (particularly in developing countries). Low-cost 3G solutions are gaining traction in rural applications, where BOM is a key factor of the overall platform cost.

In metro "hot zone" applications, operators can deploy Femtocells in high-traffic areas to improve local area coverage, increase system capacity and offload traffic from the macro network.

Percello's PRC6500 SoC is uniquely suited to meet the needs of outdoor applications. This high performance baseband processor for UMTS/HSPA+ Femtocells offers the lowest BOM for rural and metro Femtocell solutions, together with the highest user capacity, extended cell range and low power consumption. PRC6500 supports 16 simultaneous active users together with HSPA+ data rates of 21.6Mbps and 5.7Mbps. Its extended cell range optimizes coverage for outdoor applications.

To support larger numbers of users in outdoor applications, two or four PRC6500 chips can be connected in a cascaded configuration on a single board. This scalable solution enables vendors to offer high capacity Femtocells at a very attractive price to support 32- or 64-user offerings.