The small cell market segment is just coming of age and is very dynamic. As a result, femtocell and picocell family product naming conventions emerge with inconsistencies between companies because of the sudden segment boom. However, industry-wide there are some common aspects that classify whether a product is a femtocell, enterprise femtocell, picocell or even a metrocell.
Capacity: The number of users that can connect to a device is often the most obvious differentiator when determining which name to give a small cell. Femtocells support somewhere between 4 to 8 users, just enough to cover a household. Enterprise femtocells cover 16 to 32 users (simultaneous 1xRTT and EV-DO) depending upon the size of the building. Picocells and metrocells are often deployed in public areas so they would generally support between 32 to 64 users or even more.
Automatic Configuration Capabilities: Femtocells and enterprise femtocells are equipped with self-optimizing or self-organizing capabilities and are typically installed by a consumer or business unit. Picocells or metrocells are installed by the operator’s deployment team and could include automatic self-configuration, manual configuration, or a combination of both depending upon the deployment circumstance and what method is ideal for the operator.
Power Output: Femtocells typically have power output in the range of 20mW for a consumer femtocell and up to 200mW for an enterprise femtocell. Picocells will typically have power output at 200mW or more.
Hand-off Capabilities: Picocells must have full soft and hard hand-off capabilities to meet the same standards of the macro network. Enterprise femtocells are expected to be able to provide soft hand-off between each device, within a building or campus as well as full hand-off capabilities with the macro network. Consumer femtocells typically have hand-out capabilities to the macro network, but they do not accommodate hand-in or soft hand-off between femtocells.
Location: Femtocells and enterprise femtocells will nearly always be installed indoors in a private home or office. A picocell could be installed either inside in a large public area or outside with a protective cabinet. A metrocell is unique because it is typically installed as a strand mount unit in a metropolitan area.
