femto- +"Ž cell
femtocell - Computer Definition
An imprecise term referring to a radio cell smaller than a picocell and used to describe a very small radio cell associated with a cellular radio base station located in a home or small office. Femtocells are proposed for use as extensions of public cellular radio service into the customer premises to counteract perceived competitive threats from Generic Access Network (GAN),Wi-Fi,WiMAX, and other wireless network technologies. See also cellular radio, femto-, GAN, picocell, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX.
An indoor cellular access point that routes cellphone calls over the Internet. Connecting to the home or office network, which must have a broadband Internet connection, the femtocell is a mini cell tower with a range of approximately 5,000 square feet. When users are within range, their phones pick up the stronger femtocell signal rather than a weaker signal from an external cell tower. Help the User; Help the Carrier Femtocells let people make and receive calls inside buildings where cellular reception may be poor. They also help the carrier, because calls that traverse the femtocell and Internet provide relief to their over-the-air networks in congested metropolitan areas. Contrast with mobile broadband router. AIRAVE, MicroCell, Network Extender In 2007, Sprint introduced AIRAVE, the first cellphone femtocell in the U.S. In 2009, AT&T and Verizon introduced the MicroCell and Network Extender, respectively. WiMAX carriers also encourage the use of femtocells for improved indoor coverage (see WiMAX).