Keith Shirley

I have a conflict of interest when it comes to the availability of strong mobile signals. I get increasingly frustrated when I can’t get a good signal. Even the times where I do get a good signal I sometimes get the impression that the voice quality is not all it should be. Now that I have the N95 and have started using the 3G functionality more an more I’m become even more impatient. On the other hand – I hate to see masts popping up in previously unspoilt areas and I would definitely not want one beside my house.

There is a potential solution to this problem – Picocells. Picocell’s could be considered to be like the access point you use for your normal wireless network but they are for mobile phones. They are basically mini GSM base stations. They would normally be used in an office block to provide a mini local phone network. There are two versions that I am familiar with – one connects to the main GSM network but the other connects to an IP network to get the calls back to the phone operator. It’s this second version that I think is going to become increasingly popular in the coming years. These picocells (and femtocells for smaller use such as at home) will allow a good phone connection to become available in places where there was no decent signal before. Many people have already switched to using only their mobile phone and having no fixed line to their homes. Increasing the signal quality within the house makes good sense. It’s even becoming more acceptable to only have mobile numbers for business use – as opposed to years ago where a mobile only number looked unprofessional.

The prices for picocells and femtocells are dropping quite rapidly so expect to see some of the phone operators offer you an Internet connection to your office with one if these in the package.

What about the health issues? Well I’m not a doctor but I’d prefer to be connecting to a very local base station than one further away. The mobile phones boost the signal strength when there is bad reception. For me this becomes most obvious if I leave the phone in the drawer over night  – the battery is almost flat by the morning……and I’m not even using it. I hate to think how strong the signal is when the phone has to transmit at full power and it’s beside my head. Having a local picocell would help prevent my brain being cooked for a little while longer.