Femtocell Technology - Overview
A femtocell is a scalable, multi-channel, two-way communication device extending a typical base station by incorporating all of the major components of the telecommunications infrastructure. A typical example is a UMTS access point, containing a Node-B, RNC and GSN, connecting to the cellular core network via the internet.
For a mobile operator, femtocell are attractive because of the significant improvement of coverage and increase in capacity, especially indoors. This enables the operator to provide new services and decreases costs. This will automatically translate into considerable reduction in capital expenditure and operating expense and as such will contribute greatly to the bottom line.
Femtocells are an alternative way to deliver the benefits of Fixed Mobile Convergence. The distinction is that most FMC architectures require a new (dual-mode) handset which works with existing home/enterprise Wi-Fi access points, while a femtocell-based deployment will work with existing handsets and only requires the installation of a new access point.
For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell