T-Mobile Venture Fund has today announced that it has made a strategic investment in 3G femtocell specialist, Ubiquisys, joining Google and original investors Accel Partners, Atlas Venture and Advent Venture Partners.
The Ubiquisys femtocell is currently in mass production with Sony Technium. The units are being used by Ubiquisys' partners such as Nokia Siemens Networks and NEC, to facilitate operator trials worldwide, including T-Mobile. The strategic investment is said to support the drive towards the first commercial launches, anticipated towards the end of 2008.
"Femtocells are fundamental to the future of mobile. They solve the coverage dilemma whilst lowering costs for operators and consumers alike. They pave the way for new mobile services that put the mobile phone at the centre of the connected home, and allow operators to offer improved fixed broadband + mobile bundles." said Axel Kolb, Fund Manager, T-Mobile Venture Fund. "We identified Ubiquisys as the clear leader in this space, with an innovative product, a strong deployment ecosystem, and unique software to enable femtocell-ready applications."
"Femtocells seamlessly join-up mobile phones, home networks and broadband internet for the first time. They also offer mobile operators a completely new method for deploying new network technologies," said Chris Gilbert, CEO of Ubiquisys. "We are delighted to have the support of one of the industry's most prominent venture groups, a company that shares our view of how of femtocells can revolutionise the mobile experience."