StarHub Launches World's First Commercial 3G Femtocell Service

(Business News & Technology News, 1 Dec 2008)

Mobile and MaxOnline hubbers are set to enjoy even greater benefits as StarHub launches "Home Zone", said to be the world's first commercially available 3G femtocell service. 3G femtocell is a portable cellular access device that connects a user's 3G mobile phone directly to a MaxOnline-enabled router in the home so that users can make voice and video calls and send SMS over StarHub's cable network from their mobile phones.

StarHub is making all local outgoing voice, video calls and SMS free for customers using the "Home Zone" service, ensuring that users, who make frequent mobile calls and SMS from home, can enjoy significant cost-savings on their mobile phone bills.

"As the operator that frequently delivers new innovations to the Singapore market, we see tremendous potential in the "Home Zone" service, which uses the 3G femtocell technology. While services such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) have been available for some years, these are restricted to VoIP-enabled mobile phones. The beauty of the 3G femtocell technology is that all 3G-enabled phones are supported and customers do not need to purchase special handsets to take advantage of it," says Anil Nihalani, Head of Mobile and Communications, StarHub.

Home Zone supports all 3G mobile usage. While all outgoing local voice calls, video calls and SMS are free, MMS, IDD calls, mobile downloads, mobile surfing and other GPRS activities conducted over the mobile device will be charged at standard published rates. StarHub mobile customers on eligible plans can even make Free IDD 018 calls to 18 destinations using the Home Zone service. Local call charges will however still apply.

As an added bonus, besides his/her own mobile number, the subscriber can nominate up to three other StarHub mobile numbers to a white-list that will be recognised by the Home Zone service. This means that up to four StarHub 3G mobile users can call out simultaneously over a single Home Zone connection, each of the callers being able to enjoy the same benefits.

"The Home Zone service demonstrates the true benefits of hubbing with StarHub. By extending the ability to use the Home Zone service to immediate family members, hubbing families who are our 3G mobile and MaxOnline customers, will be able to get more out of it with better cost-savings and convenience," says Nihalani.

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