Anton Okmyanskiy

It appears that US Mobile SPs are very eager to put GPS modules into their Femtocells (aka FAP). In Europe and elsewhere, however, this is not the case.  Why? Everybody knows that getting reliable GPS lock inside buildings is very hard.  The best GPS reception is at the window.  But for the best Femto coverage you want it in the middle of a typical McMansion.   When SPs embed Femto into other devices such as STB, they won't be by the window.  External antennas are pain. Trees interfere with line of sight.  And GPS modules are not free.  So, why do US providers want to inflict this pain on themselves and their customers? Let's review why folks *think* they need GPS in a FAP: 1. FAP location verification. This ensures: (a) FAP does not radiate on the wrong frequency and does not violate FCC rules; this is relevant if an SP has different spectrum channels in different ... (more)