Sprint began offering a consumer femtocell base station in its first two markets as a means of enhancing in-home wireless coverage. The Sprint AIRAVE, which is supplied by Samsung, works with any Sprint CDMA phone and a broadband Internet connection. When in range, calls are carried over the broadband network rather than the CDMA network.
Sprint is offering unlimited wireless incoming and outgoing calls and nationwide long distance over the femtocell for $15 per month for individuals and $30 per month for families, in addition to the customer’s regular wireless voice plan.
Calls can be automatically transferred back to the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network when they leave the 5,000-foot radius range of the femtocell. A special tone indicates when the user has entered or left the femtocell radius. Three phones can use the base station simultaneously.
The service is initially available in select areas of Denver and Indianapolis. The AIRAVE is being sold at Sprint stores for $49.99. Sprint plans to make the AIRAVE available later this year to customers in the remainder of Denver and Indianapolis, along with Nashville, and to customers nationwide in 2008.
http://www.sprint.com
