Vodafone Access Gateway: Femtocell 1 July UK Launch

Vodafone Access Gateway: Femtocell 1 July UK Launch18 months ago, Digital-Lifestyles was one of the first, if not _the_ first, consumer-focused publications to report on Femtocells.

We were wowed by the concept – very strong cellular reception in your home, with the calls and data heading up your broadband connection.

As we said back in Nov 2007 …

Quite why this wouldn’t become common places is a hard one to understand. We can see no losers with this – the individual is getting full strength reception on their mobile phone; extending battery life; data services will be at full rate; the cellular operator is saving money on backhaul; the mobile subscriber is likely to get a considerable number of home-based calls bundled in for free.

We also went on in March 2008 to explain Femtocell: Why You’ll Have One.

In the UK on Vodafone from 1 July
UK Vodafone will be launching their Femocell service in the UK under the name Vodafone Access Gateway.

The pricing is a little confusing. It’s available “from free or as part of an inclusive price plan from as little as £15 a month,” or as a one-off purchase for £160 or a monthly charge from “as little as £5”.

If the UK will find this pricing model attractive enough isn’t clear. A lot will depend on how desperate people are to get decent reception at home.

Vodafone say it works with “all 3G handsets,” carrying up four voice calls simultaneously, but handsets need to be registered with the unit and will be usable “within 24 hours .”

Vodafone Access Gateway site (not yet live, but due 1 July)