Eyeing emerging picocell and femtocell markets, computer networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. has made a strategic investment in Cambridge, UK based developer ip.access. While the terms of this investment deal were not disclosed, ip.access has a long list of investors, which include Scottish Equity Partners, Rothschild Gestion, Intel Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, ADC and Motorola Ventures. The company was founded in 1999 as a spin-out from TTPCom to provide mobile network operators with solutions to improve in-building cellular coverage and capacity.

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Its Oyster 3G femtocell solution is currently in trials with major mobile network operators globally. The Oyster 3G femtocell is a low-power wireless access point which plugs into a residential broadband DSL or cable connection to deliver a 3G mobile phone signal indoors. With operators increasingly seeking to exploit the benefits of all-IP networks, femtocells are a natural choice for delivering cost-effective 3G coverage and high-speed data capacity to mobile phone users at home, according to ip.aceess.

Analysts are predicting a huge market for femtocells: a recent report from IDATE forecasts that 10 million UMTS femtocells will ship worldwide in 2010, rising to 18 million in 2011. And marker researcher ABI Research’s report forecasts that femtocells will reach 36.3 million units per annum by 2012 after its introduction in 2008, accounting for 67.5 million cumulative shipments over that period. By ABI Research’s account, there will be some 151 million femtocell users by 2012.

According to Cisco, operators plan to integrate femtocell technology within residential gateways and set-top boxes, such as those offered by its consumer products business. These integrated products will help enable fixed broadband and mobile services to be bundled together. They will also ultimately help enable mobile phones to better communicate with PCs, TVs and other devices in the connected home, said ip.access.

“We are delighted to have Cisco as an investor,” said Stephen Mallinson, CEO of ip.access. “As the worldwide leader in Internet Protocol-based networks, Cisco brings complementary skills and experience to address the needs of operator and consumer customers.”

According to ip.access, its 2G picocells are already deployed in more than 30 live networks around the world. It will be demonstrating the capabilities of the Oyster 3G femtocell at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain next month.

www.ipaccess.com