07 May 2008

Singapore, 7 May 2008 - StarHub will start its home zone service trial using femtocell technology, the first of its kind in Singapore, from next week.

200 StarHub customers who have a mobile post-paid service as well as a MaxOnline Express, MaxOnline Premium, or MaxOnline Ultimate residential broadband connection, will be involved in trialing the femtocell technology.

Femtocells are portable cellular access points that connect 3G and 3.5G mobile devices to an operator's core mobile network via the broadband network, and works the same way as Wi-Fi access points. The technical trial is intended to test the efficiency of femtocells in complementing an operator's mobile services.

Mr Anil Nihalani, Head of Mobile Services, StarHub, said: "StarHub is constantly looking to harness new technologies and develop innovative solutions that offer value and convenience to our customers. We have been actively following the developments in femtocell technology, with the view of enhancing current mobile offerings to our customers. Particularly, we will be evaluating the effectiveness of this new technology in delivering 3G and 3.5G mobile services - voice and video calls, as well as SMS, MMS and data services - within the home environment. This trial will enable us to determine whether femtocell technology is a viable technology for use in Singapore."

StarHub will deploy femtocells from Huawei and ZTE for this six-month trial. 

StarHub will use the trial to garner feedback and comments on the home zone service, in consideration for a future commercial launch.