Femto Forum takes page from DSL world for CPE provisioning

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:42:35 -0400

The Femto Forum is taking its que from the DSL world when it comes to provisioning home base stations and remotely managing them. The forum announced that its members have agreed to implement the Broadband Forum's TR-069 CPE WAN Management Protocol for real-time management of customer premise equipment (CPE), as the basis for the management protocol for femtocells.

The Forum noted that femtocells will be deployed in high volumes and installed by the subscriber so the provisioning and configuration has to e completely automated and managed remotely by the mobile operator. The TR-069 standard has proven it allows operators to offer simple installation and provisioning; perform advanced diagnostics and conduct remote firmware and service upgrades with millions of end devices, in an extremely cost-effective manner, the forum noted.

The Femto Forum said it plans to continue working closely with the Broadband Forum to define extensions to TR-069 to add additional femtocell capability to the standard. The two bodies have been working together over recent months to ensure the protocol is able to meet the criteria of femtocells.

For more:
- check out this release

Related stories:
Femto Forum looks to agree on 4G/WiMAX integration standards. Femto Forum story
Femto Forum, NGMN Alliance unite for femtocells. Femtocell story

Femto Forum, NGMN Alliance unite for femtocells

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:27:52 -0400

The Femto Forum and the NGMN Alliance, the group made up of leading operators developing technologies for 4G, agreed to cooperate to ensure that next generation mobile networks can incorporate femtocells from the very beginning of their deployment rather than integrating the technology after.

Incorporating femtocells from the very beginning will enable mobile operators to manage the costs of rollouts, plan spectrum use and ensure optimum coverage and capacity, the groups said. The two groups will be involved in establishing clear performance targets, fundamental recommendations and deployment scenarios for next generation mobile broadband networks incorporating femtocells and to help ensure that cost/performance ratios are optimized.

"Adding femtocells to existing cellular networks provides operators with numerous benefits, but rolling out a completely new mobile technology designed to include femtocells introduces fundamental and powerful advantages," said Dr. Peter Meissner, operating officer of the NGMN Alliance. "The partnership between the Femto Forum and the NGMN Alliance will offer operators a completely different approach to network rollout than exists today."

For more:
- check out this release

Related stories:
Femto Forum agrees on one interoperability standard. Femto Forum story
Femtocell announcements bring market momentum; questions still remain. Femtocell story