Telefonica is conducting a two-month trial deploying a 4G femtocell low-power cellular base station to 100 of its fibre-optic customers to boost their home mobile reception. Cinco Dias reports that the operator is testing the technology in the homes of customers located near Telefonica’s headquarters in the Las Tablas area of Madrid. The company’s aim is to offer improved 4G coverage in indoor environments by boosting the limited coverage of the 1800 MHz band. By using femtocell technology Telefonica estimates that download speeds of up to 150 Mbps can be achieved, increasing data consumption. The pilot project will also test the possibilities of a mixed 4G deployment, combining antennas and femtocells in every home. Unnamed sources cited in the report claim that the benefits of femtocell units can be experienced not only by customers who have them installed in their homes but in all surrounding homes.
Telefonica recently reported that at the end of March it had a total of 701,000 fibre-optic customers and 4.1 million households connected to FTTH. The operator recently reiterated its target of bringing fibre services to 7.1 million households by the end of the year.
