Femtocell May Pick Your Pocket

Folks, this is what ‘could be’ but until we see the particualars of what the Duopoly proposes. So lets be cognizant but cool about this. We’ll bark when we see what actually going down. So first let me describe the technology and the why of the carrier motivation.

Femtocell is a cute euphemism for essentially a cellular microtower. As planned these devices would have a form factor similar to a WiFi router and would be deployed in your home or office. They are also deployed about the same. You power it up, plug it in to the broadband network and register it with your wire line carrier. Now the unit itself has about a 100′ range dependent on the house/office construction, other units, topography, etc. For the deployment you get excellent cell coverage. Most designs can handle up to 4-5 simultaneous cell conservations. But the key point here is any cellular connection will go over your broadband connection.

Now why would the carriers want you to deploy this Femtocell? Its simple — cost. It take money to deploy a cell tower. They sometimes skimp or local conditions are not as envisioned. In any event the coverage is missed in some areas. Well rather then deploy another large cell in comes a bunch of Femtocells to provide that small area. Especially if you can get your customers to buy into the scheme and be your ‘partner’.

Ok now that we have an understanding of the technology and motivation let us parse this out.

Pros:

• If you have poor cell coverage in your home or office because you are on the ‘edge’ you my perceive a great deal of benefit.
• If the carriers are upfront about the back haul arrangement over your internet connection well then ok.
• Deploying these Femtocells could actually save the users base money. By agreeing the carriers do not have to invest in more capital. So long as the carriers are fair to both the customer base and the shareholders everyone could benefit.

Cons:

• This is the tricky part. What if the carrier does not tell you they are borrowing your broadband connection? They offer you a come on price for the unit then bury right to use legalese in your contract giving you no recourse. Then what?
• Haven’t been able to discern it but unless the system has a way to throttle you may find your broadband connection totally sucked up by your next door neighbors teen age daughter downloading Verizon cell videos.
• If I were a cell user on a femtocell how do I know that my cell traffic cannot be intercepted and used in some nefarious way? The average user may not know how. But their 13yo pimply faced son might.
• Patriot Act and RIAA. By installing the femtocell and PROVIDED it or you have installed a NAT to share an IP address all the traffic cell or otherwise is masked with YOUR IP address. So if the next door neighbors daughter is using a smart cell phone to download songs it will mark you as the downloader in the RIAA’s eyes. Or if someone of nefarious intent discovers and uses your cell it would be quite possible you might end up on the FBI’s FISA list thru no fault of your own.
• Essentially you are not being compensated for use of your broadband connection by the carrier.

This being a good deal depends on technology and honesty. One avenue that might absolve would be the cell using 2 IP’s so the traffic is segregated. The second is disclosure. The deployee should be coached that they are becoming a partner in the carriers network. If the security concerns are sufficient and the need for better coverage is critical to the customer then ok. But if games are bieng played and disclosure is not forthcoming I would pass.

We will keep you apprised as we learn more.

Background article.

[Update:] Actually a thought experiment. I wonder if the carriers have thought this thru? You are going to put carrier-like hardware into the hands of hackers. I would not be too far fetched for the likes of the DD-WRT guys to tear into one of these things, do a software rewrite and turn the darn thing into a private cell-to-landline gateway which is tapped into Skype. You roam at home using nary a bit of your minutes with an unlocked phone. Only when you leave your ‘cell’ do you hop onto the carrier’s network. Has to be a catch I am sure but it sure seems feasible.