News

Get your own GSM mast for inside your office - "ip.access" to exploit internet feeds

Cambridge innovator ip.access ltd, which takes an Internet feed to create a microcell GSM phone station, has broken into the big time. But can it beat "mast hysteria" this way?

Fancy a local GSM mast which nobody can see? or one inside your own office? It can be done; just put the microcell onto an ADSL feed. The technology has hitherto been sold on a small scale: now, they have some hopes of moving up a gear by recruiting BT Wholesale as a distributor.

The company eschews capital letters, but we're going to call it IP.Access. And it might be the answer to people who threaten to firebomb churches.

IP.Access is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TTP Communications Plc and in the past, has been putting village phone services together for patches of geography that aren't reached by conventional GSM masts. A relatively thin Internet pipe, like a standards ADSL link is, they claim, enough to support a typical 100-user population, given normal talk patterns.

But given the level of mast hysteria as Magee calls it at The Inquirer, it may be necessary to resort to this sort of subterfuge - until, of course, the mast hysterics decide that this is even more dangerous.

BT will sell this to network operators, on the back of its DSL links. However, any good low-latency IP connection will do.

Stephen Mallinson, managing director, Ip.Access, added, "This contract is an important milestone in the widespread adoption of nanoGSM technology and is further recognition of our strong belief in using existing networks to deploy GSM in-building."

These days, Ip.Access doesn't just provide voice coverage: its nanoBTS system does GPRS data as well. See our previous article for some history.

The company designs and manufactures a range of GSM and GPRS infrastructure solutions that integrate seamlessly with IP-based networks. The move to providing these in-buildings is a relatively recent marketing thrust.

Parent company TTP Communications, through its subsidiary TTPCom, sells technology intellectual property used in the design and manufacture of wireless communication terminals. Over 80 devices using its GSM technology have achieved Full Type Approval.