Bath-based communications processor developer PicoChip is increasing its emphasis on W-CDMA systems to support demand for so-called ‘femto’ basestations for 3G.
Femto basestations sustain just a handful of sessions, and are being used to provide improved 3G access in buildings. They could help 3G operators offer services similar to the IP-telephony available from WiFi-enabled phones.
“It depends what the operators want to do,” said PicoChip’s
CEO Guillaume d’Eyssautier. “There’s no reason why, with a local 3G hotspot instead of a WiFi hotspot, they can’t provide the same cost model as a WiFi phone.”
Handsets accessing the web via a 3G basestation with HSDPA, rather than WiFi, would be simpler and lower power, said d’Eyssautier.