2Wire Integrates 3G/UMTS and CDMA into Residential Gateways

2Wire announced plans to include femtocell functionality in its DSL residential gateways for enabling fixed-mobile convergence (FMC).

A femtocell is a miniature cellular base station specifically designed for use in the home, vastly improving cellular voice and data coverage and quality throughout the home.

2Wire said its HomePortal BaseStation will provide whole-home coverage for both UMTS 3G voice and data (HSPA) services and CDMA-2000 EVDO 3G services. Backwards compatibility with GSM/GPRS/EDGE and IS-95/1xRTT will also be provided. The HomePortal BaseStation will add to 2Wire’s existing portfolio of broadband voice products and services, which includes the HomePortal 2700HGV, with built-in VoIP capability and differentiated QoS functionality. Sold in conjunction with the BT Fusion service, the HomePortal 2700HGV delivers dual-mode phone service with mobile and Wi-Fi calling capabilities from the same cellular device.

2Wire will be launching two new families of femtocell products in early 2008, including femtocells that connect with residential gateways via Ethernet, and the HomePortal BaseStation, which fully integrates the femtocell into the residential gateway itself. The HomePortal BaseStation will provide complete femtocell functionality while retaining the form and functionality of traditional HomePortal residential gateways, including full TR-069 standards compliance, a high performance ADSL or VDSL modem, a high-speed router, professional-grade firewall, integrated voice over IP, remote access capabilities, and flexible home networking options.