What are the addressed markets for the new concept of femto wireless cells? How do operators and vendors react and plan to deploy femto cell solutions? When will the market for femto cell be ready? Will it be limited to 3G only? Will it open the door to full-IP flat mobile networks? What are the regulatory and business issues (economics) to be addressed?

Femto cells promise to change the economics of broadband wireless access. A femto cell is a 3G access point leveraging flat IP architecture, which combines RNC, node B, and packet core network into one single box that is ideally suited to address the home market for high-speed data and voice via localized, in-building mobile services with a single device. The new concept and business model of femto cell have drawn attentions significantly from operators, vendors, and even mobile end users. While the relevant products and solutions will be available in a short time, there are still a number of technical, regulatory and economic issues that need to be solved before femto cells can bring the promised value to the telecommunications market, including relative positioning, impact and interworking with other fixed and wireless broadband technologies.

Gaëtan Verhegge CTO — Regional Director Solution and Strategy North East Asia Alcatel-Lucent Asia Pacific

Mr. Verhegge leads a team of consultants in northeast Asia, developing technically viable and commercially feasible network solutions tailored to meet the business objective requirements for both carrier and vertical segments. He previously held numerous business development and strategy positions in Shanghai, Belgium, and Paris. He holds a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Ghent in Belgium with specialization in electronics and telecom and a master's degree in industrial management from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

Markus Dillinger Head of Wireless Access Networks Nokia Siemens Networks

Mr. Dillinger is currently taking care of femto cells. He is also the project leader of the European research project TRUST and the follow-up project SCOUT for software-defined radio. He was previously responsible for the WiMAX Portfolio Strategy for Siemens COM and led the SDR research activities. Mr. Dillinger was also previously the technical manager of FRAMES. He started in the Mobile Network division at Siemens. Mr. Dillinger received his diploma in telecommunications from the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany.

Gavin Johns Chief Executive Officer Epitiro

Gavin Johns is Managing Director of Epitiro Ltd. Since co-founding Epitiro in 2000 with current CTO Jon Curley, Gavin has taken the company from fledgling start-up to its current position of recognized global broadband benchmarking experts, with offices in the UK, France, New Zealand, Australia and North America. His 15 years experience in the telecoms and internet industries has seen him work extensively on projects in Europe, North America and Asia with a variety of international blue-chip clients. Current clients include some of the biggest name in global telecom including Vodafone, British Telecom, France Telecom and Telefonica. Epitiro also works closely with a number of regulators to provide an accurate and up-to-date picture of broadband performance from both a local and international perspective. Gavin holds an Honours degree in computer science from Cardiff University and a triple-accredited Masters degree in Business Administration from the Open University

Dave Wisely Head, Fixed Mobile Convergence Research BT

Dr. Wisely has responsibility for BT's 21C network's convergence research program. He has worked for BT for 20 years in the fields of networks and mobility research and pioneered optical wireless links in the early 1990s, constructing a 4 km, 1500 nm system using optical amplifiers. Dr. Wisely has worked in the field of mobility for the past 10 years, looking first at wireless ATM and HIPERLAN type 1 systems and more lately at the combination of cellular mobile and WLAN systems. He was one of the pioneers of an all-IP solution for future developments of 3G.