Google buys into femtocells

FEMTO CELLS have suddenly got very sexy. They must be sexy because Google has decided to enter the space by buying into the sector's obvious leader, Ubiquisys.

The British based supplier has announced that it's won another $25 million worth of funding from its original backers who've just been joined by the Net's eponymous search engine provider.

Why is Google interested in femtocells? The answer would seem to be that they represent a smart new way of getting broadband into the home.

Ubiquisys's Zonegate femtocell plugs into DSL and then provides access to WiFi, Ethernet, ordinary telephones and USB. But the most important thing is that it also acts as a local 3G base station.

So you can wander around your home and garden with superb access to mobile broadband courtesy of 3G.

And it also means that mobile network operators will subsidise the cost of the box just to get them inside your home. Much like a set-top box really.

Google probably picked Ubiquisys because ABI Research rated Ubiquisys as the Number One femtocell vendor back in June 2007.

So maybe you'll see Google's home page as soon as you log on through the box. Who knows? µ