Ubiquisys has announced commercial availability of a wide area femtocell which is claimed to provide wireless coverage over an area of up to 12km sq.
The hope is that femtocells with this range can be used to improve mobile coverage in rural areas.
Ubiquisys has demonstrated the wide area femtocell in a rural area near Swindon in the UK.
"The demonstration showed that for less energy than it takes to power a light bulb, a village area with a 1.5km radius was provided with comprehensive coverage," said the company.
"Our femtocells automatically adapt to their environment, eliminating the need for radio planning and enabling fast deployment of coverage and capacity precisely where it's needed," said Chris Gilbert, CEO Ubiquisys.
The femtocells have a capacity of up to 16 calls and can either be mounted outdoors, or placed indoors with an external antenna, typically attached to the roof of the building.
Ubiquisys presented the results of the demonstration at the Femtocell Americas event in San Diego.