voip Archive

What Is The FemtoJack? – A Quick Look At Ymax’s Femtocell

By
FemtoJack Mack
Published: October 16, 2009Posted in: FemtoJack
What Is The FemtoJack? – A Quick Look At Ymax’s Femtocell

Ymax Corporation, the company behind the magic Jack, will soon be unveiling a new product tagged the femtoJack. Although there has been no official announcement from the company our sources say that  it will be announced during the first quarter of 2010. Our sources even mention magic Jack CEO Dan Barislow speaking about the product on several occasions without giving it a name while a representative from its sister company Stratus Communications has actually referred to it as the femtoJack.

So what is the femtoJack you might ask? Well, the femtoJack is a small USB device that is used to make calls from your home over a VoIP network. Sounds just like the magic Jack doesn’t it? Well it is just like the magic Jack but there is one catch. Instead of using a traditional phone with the femtoJack you will use your cell phone and you will use it wirelessly. Yep, that’s right. A USB device that gives you unlimited VoIP minutes while in range of it no wires, phone jacks, or cords required.

The femto Jack is expected to  look just like the magic Jack (only slightly bigger) and be very cheap (equal to or only slightly more expensive than magic Jack). Like it’s predecessor the magic Jack, it is expected to come with unlimited local and long distance calling to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada for one small yearly fee.

The technology behind the femtoJack is simple. It uses femtocell technology which means that it uses radio frequencies to transmit your call wirelessly through your broadband Internet connection, across magic Jack’s dedicated VoIP network and eventually to the person you are making the call to.

One of the added benefits of the femtoJack is it’s ability to work as a cell phone signal booster. If you are unable to get cell phone service within your home all you have to do is setup the femtoJack and you will instantly have your own mini cellular tower if you will. Now, technically speaking it won’t be a cell tower but it will serve nearly the same purpose. With the femtoJack you don’t need to have an actual cell phone signal, just a cell phone. It is unclear at this point but we believe than a cell phone that isn’t activate with a cell carrier will even be able to be used with the femto Jack. Early reports also indicate that the femtoJack will be powerful enough that you will be able to get service from anywhere in your own home, of course that’s assuming you don’t have a 5000 sq. ft. home.

It is believed that the femtoJack will work with nearly all carriers at some point but at first it is expected to work exclusively for GSM standard phones which include anything from AT&T or T-Mobile. The only question that remains is whether it is legal for the femtoJack to use the wireless spectrum that mobile carriers have paid billions to possess. Early indications point to it being okay since wireless spectrum licenses don’t extend into the home.

What Is A Femtocell?

By
FemtoJack Mack
Published: September 2, 2009Posted in: Femtocells
What Is A Femtocell?

A femtocell looks just like a wireless router and acts as a wireless access point that routes mobile phone calls over the Internet via VoIP technology.  Femtocells are used not only to lower cell network usage but also to help enhance cell phone reception in areas where signals are weak.  A femtocell in affect creates a mini cell network that offers the same benefits as a cell booster plus a whole new list of advantages.

At first glance most people think a femtocell is a wireless router of some sort. Femtocells have a striking resemblance to wireless routers but they do very different things. When someone has a femtocell and they are in range of it the femtocell will grab their cell call and route it over their broadband Internet connection through a VoIP network and on to the person they are calling. What this does is eliminate the need for an actual cell signal where the femtocell is and also helps to remove cell traffic from a resource strained network.

The idea behind femtocells is for cell carriers to sell them along with regular usage plans and then offer an unlimited femtocell minutes options for something like $20 a month. The end result would be no need for any type of land line or the expensive unlimited voice plan that most carriers are now offering for a ridiculous $99.99 per month.

Although femtocells are expected to be huge over the next several years most people have not yet heard about them. They are expected to be widely available in the near future and the number of users is also expected to skyrocket over the next several years. One of the most highly anticipated femtocells out there is the Femto Jack, which this site is dedicated to. The FemtoJack is expected to be one of the cheapest femtocells in regards to both the device itself and the usage fee. Since the femto Jack will be made by Ymax Corporation, who is not a cell carrier, it is believed that it will be a lot cheaper since their motive will be to gain customers rather than supplement their revenue. If the femto Jack price is anywhere near what people currently pay for the magic Jack then it will be a great deal.