So far there are three places where services and applications run/hosted/placed in the network:
- In the core network of the mobile operator, think voice calls and IMS
- On the Internet, think web based applications like Google Reader, Yahoo maps, etc, etc.
- On the device itself, think Microsoft applications on PCs, Java and native applications on mobile devices.
When services and applications are connected, they usually interact with some other part of the network. A web browser for example is only useful because there are web servers on the Internet providing content. Some services and applications are also hybrid. Take Opera Mini for example. The browser is split between a light-weight Java application on the mobile device and a compression proxy somewhere on the net.
And now a fourth place for applications and services is emerging, on femtocells and home gateways. Services under development are automatic multimedia file transfers from/to mobile devices when they enter the femto area, forwarding of messages left by friends on Facebook and elsewhere for when the user returns home, automatic notification of parents when kids have returned home, etc.
Ip.Access is pretty outspoken on the topic and has announced a Femtocell Applications Live Event in London on June 23rd over at ForumOxford.
Martin,
Most of these ‘femtocell’ applications are basic location based services which actually do not require a femtocell. The only applications that are specific to femtocell are UPnP but I believe WiFi has already won the battle on that front.
It occurs to me that the differenciator with femtocell will be price only as this is a consumer electronic device.
The way i see it is that a femto cell is a new node on the network and might potentially process applications by itself. Lets take the example of the location service; currently the mobile network operator should managed and charge this service. However, if you buy a femto, is yours, so it can be used just as new node to run applications for you (for example, the same location application but no charge). Maybe this will open the door for new business models.