Vodafone launches femtocell devices for business customers

Vodafone Australia has quietly launched femtocell devices for business customers. The service is called Vodafone Expand and is available to business customers whose offices are located within the operator's 2,100 MHz footprint. Vodafone is offering two devices: a Small Expander for between ten and twenty users and a Large Expander for forty to eighty users. The devices connect to a customer's fixed broadband connection to provide indoor 3G coverage. Vodafone CEO Nigel Dews told ZDNet Australia that the company quietly launched the service to business customers first to ensure that it got the technology right before rolling it out to consumers. Dews said the operator will also wait to see if the roll-out if 850 MHz services this year will improve in-building coverage before offering the femtocell devices to consumers. Competitor Optus launched a femtocell trial in April with consumers and business customers.