Femto Cells: Current Status and Future Directions

Abstract

This is a survey paper on the recently developed and rapidly evolving field of femtocells. Quite often, it is noticed that cell-phone signals are strongly attenuated, when indoors, leading to call dropping or poor call quality. Femtocells are mini base stations that are deployed in users’ homes so that the user can directly connect to the cellular network through the femtocell instead of the outdoor macrocell, thereby increasing call quality. In the later stages of the paper, we also discuss the integration of the femtocell into the 3G architecture, as well as the various interference issues that the femtocell faces