Date: 07/01/2011

It costs $50 to build USB Dongle type 3G femtocell base station

Femto and pico cell focused chip vendor Picochip is developing technology and the semiconductor devices to pack an entire 3G cellular basestation in an ultra-small form factor such as USB dongle to serve limited number of users in a small area inside office building or such small circles called femtocells or picocells.

Picochip is showing this tech at CES 2011, and is also displaying small form factor public access HSPA+ femtocells.

Picochip say availability of ultra-small femtocells will allow operators to easily add HSPA+ home-basestation capabilities to appliances such as residential gateways, cable modems and set-top boxes, simply by plugging in a USB key. A "private cellsite" solution like this will solve consumer problems of 'not-spots' or coverage holes, deliver far faster data services than on a conventional cell, improve battery life and enable a variety of innovative "home zone" services.

Smaller chips using <32 nm node based semiconductor process, new signal processing software algorithms and availability of high speed USB 3.0 enable the possibility of USB femtocell. Picochip says the development builds on Picochip's optimized range of silicon and software products for high-volume manufacturers of residential HSPA+ femtocells, that deliver best-in-class system power budget, and have reduced the total component cost of a 3G femtocell to less than $50.

"It may sound incredible, but within a matter of months we'll be able to fit a complete 3G basestation on a USB dongle," said Rupert Baines, VP of Marketing at Picochip. "The last year has shown just how versatile femtocell technology is. We believe that giving our customers the ability to put a femtocell on a USB dongle enables huge opportunities for Picochip, network equipment suppliers, makers of consumer products and service providers. It's part of our vision for driving the market forward. And for end users, access to enhanced cellular services will become as simple as plugging in a USB key."