Words from the chair
by Simon Saunders, Chair, Femto Forum

We have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people signing up to this Femto Forum newsletter.  It's a privilege to have the chance to provide an update on the tone of activities in this exciting space.  I hope also to give you a real picture of what's happening behind the scenes.

Marketing working group
by Rupert Baines, picoChip

2007 was definitely the year when "femtocell" became a familiar phrase, with extensive coverage not just from the technical press (although there was plenty of that), but also from the mass media. It was notable how many industry round-ups or predictions for 2008 featured the concept.

Much of WG1 activity is related to that communications effort: making sure that the word continues to spread, that journalists and analysts have someone to speak to, explaining the issues and advantages, communicating via the website and this newsletter, and so on. While we are obviously delighted that there is so much attention, we also need to keep an eye on reality and provide balance -  there is a lot that still needs to be done and unrealistic impressions are damaging.

But beyond the marketing communications and publicity aspects of marketing, a huge amount of work has been going on with WG1.

Probably the biggest activity currently is that of Use Cases:  half-a-dozen representative scenarios, ranging from “Sally and Tom” – urban couple with active social life living in a London apartment who value convenience and fast connections, through to a rural US example where coverage is vital, to a corporate application. These different scenarios create models and constraints that are then used by the other working groups.  Since each case study emphasizes different benefits of femtocells, or different challenges, these help make sure issues have been considered and provide a series of useful “stories”.