|
TELECOMS AND SOFTWARE NEWS
|
|
|
Softbank says sorry for femtocell confusion
Jeremy Green
Softbank says sorry for femtocell confusion
Japanese new-entrant mobile operator Softbank has apologised for 'misleading people' about its femtocell strategy.
Softbank's femtos are about coverage, not capacity
Speaking on a GSMA teleconference about HSPA, Tetsuzo Matsumoto, Chief Strategy Officer for SoftBank Mobile, said that the company distinguished between its short-term view and long-term view for femtocells. In the short term, Softbank intended to use femtocells purely as a coverage solution, as we have already seen in the US with Sprint's Airave. They were intended to address the coverage shortcomings of the company's network, which was adversely compared to that of its competitors, especially in rural areas. This was particularly an issue in the business market, where some potential customers complained that their branches or outlets did not have network coverage. Femtocells provided a solution which at least offered indoor coverage for these kinds of customer. Solution to interference two to three years away
For the moment, therefore, Softbank's much-heralded femtocell trials were all about coverage and had nothing to do with any plans for increasing capacity on its HSPA network. This formed part of its longer term view; but at the moment Softbank did not feel that there was a workable solution to the problem of cell-to-cell interference, between femtocells and the macro network. This was a big issue, and deployment was out of the question until it was resolved. Matsumoto agreed that there were lots of good ideas which could form the basis for a technical solution, but said he did not expect them to be fully realised for two to three years, in line with our recent report 'Femtocell technology update: not ready until 2010'. He again apologised if the company had 'given the wrong impression' that it had its own solution which was fit for purpose now.Softbank fears the power of the dongle
Softbank's participation on an HSPA teleconference was somewhat curious in itself. Softbank is enthusiastic about HSPA as a mobile broadband network technology but is cautious to the point of paranoia about using it for PC connectivity - perhaps the main usage case in other markets, where USB dongles are the fastest-growing product category. Softbank agrees that there are no new or 'killer' applications for HSPA connectivity, and that the prime application is the Web. But Matsumoto described it as 'afraid' to sell dongles, for fear that the massive traffic loads associated with this would overwhelm its network capacity. Admittedly Softbank's circumstances, which include a shortage of allocated spectrum, are a bit special.Matsumoto's views chimed strongly with those that Softbank expressed much more forcefully to us at a recent meeting, where our accounts of changes in traffic patterns and tariff packages in Western Europe were met with frank incredulity by Softbank's chief scientist Takashi Tsutsui. Softbank also resisted strongly any attempt to suggest that dongle-based products were a 'success story'. How could this be so, a Softbank executive argued, without evidence that the services were profitable rather than merely popular? It's hard to disagree; and it would be reassuring to see some positive business cases from those operators currently signing up customers in droves for laptop connectivity services. For more on operator strategies for femtocells, please see our forthcoming report 'Operator femtocell strategies'
About:
This article is an extract taken from Ovum's Straight Talk service. This daily email bulletin provides our expert's views and opinions on important news and events in global IT and telecoms. If you have a comment or question regarding this article then please submit your details here:
If you would like to find out more about Straight Talk please contact StraightTalk@ovum.com
If you would like to find out more about Ovum services then please click
here for details
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Search
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Us
|
|
|
Expertise
|
|
|
|
|
