Airvana, ip.access, Ubiquisys align for femtocell applications efforts

CHELMSFORD, CAMBRIDGE, & SWINDON, UK: Airvana Inc., ip.access, and Ubiquisys announced that the three companies have pledged to support the Services Special Interest Group (SIG) recently formed by the Femto Forum by working together towards a common service framework and application program interfaces (APIs).

The Services SIG’s mission is to develop a framework to simplify the development and deployment of femtocell applications, which includes efforts to establish a set of standard APIs. As widely recognised supporters of a femtozone applications development environment based on open standards, Airvana, ip.access and Ubiquisys have already begun working together to advance the goals of the Services SIG.

Femtocells sit at the intersection of multiple networks including mobile, Internet, home and office -- all of which are fundamental to people’s lives.

The intelligence within the femtocell, for example presence and digital content visibility, can be used by application logic residing in any of these networks. The SIG’s work will help the industry establish a framework that encompasses all of these options and establish a common approach.

Several unique attributes of femtocell technology make the devices highly suited for supporting an interesting array of applications. First, they change the economics of mobile data by providing massive bandwidth indoors to mobile devices at very low cost.

Second, femtocells make sophisticated presence-based applications simple for not only users of cutting edge smart phones but also everyday legacy feature phones. And finally they make it easy for people to share their digital content across various previously isolated networks.

"Femtocells open the door for exciting applications that can deliver a new, and highly valuable dimension to how customers use their mobile devices," said Simon Saunders, the Femto Forum’s Chair. "To see femtocell vendors come together in this way is a powerful validation of the potential femtozone services have to change the way both mobile operators and their subscribers view mobile devices."

An open development environment based on freely accessible, standard APIs is critical to drive developer interest and create greater opportunities for the widespread adoption of femtozone applications.

Airvana, ip.access, and Ubiquisys are dedicated to ensuring that application developers have access to this type of open framework and invite developers and other industry vendors to support this effort.

"Femtozone applications greatly expand the value femtocells can deliver to both mobile operators and their subscribers beyond the already recognised improvements in indoor voice coverage and packet data user experience," explained Dr. Vedat Eyuboglu, CTO of Airvana. "Femtozone applications allow the femtocell to become the center of the connected digital home by bridging consumers’ mobile and home environments. This is why we are joining forces with ip.access and Ubiquisys in the advancement of femtozone applications through our involvement in the Femto Forum’s Services SIG."

"We believe collaboration on femto services is the right approach," said Dr. Nick Johnson, CTO of ip.access. "The power of the femtocell as a platform for new services can only be fully realised if femtocell vendors cooperate to create an open, standards based development environment. The Femto Forum provides an ideal place for us to work alongside other vendors who share the same commitment."

"Femtocells are intelligent devices that blur traditional boundaries between internet, mobile and devices on the home and office LAN," said Will Franks, Founder and CTO of Ubiquisys. "As a result, femtocell intelligence can be harnessed by applications running almost anywhere. That’s why we support the work of the Femto Forum to establish a common approach to femtocell APIs, which will make it easier for developers to femto-enable their apps."