How small cell applications work

Small cell applications work through information sent by small cell access points. The information can be received by applications in handsets (sent by the air interface), by applications hosted on the local network or by applications on the internet or in the mobile operator’s network.


The key pieces of information that the femtocell can provide are:

Presence information – when a user enters, leaves or is present on the femtocell.
Routeing information –  access to the routeing table for the local network.
Service Discovery information – the ability to discover services on the local or wide area network.
Capability information – what throughput the femtocell can support and who can use it.
Secure remote access – the ability to connect remotely to the home network from a mobile device.

Femtocell applications work through information sent by femtocells

 

To deliver this information to applications, APIs could be present in the handset, from the access point or from the Small Cell Gateway. Applications could the use this simple information and feature set to deliver a wide range of services. It is the Forum’s intention that these APIs will be developed in conjunction with relevant standards bodies where appropriate and with the target of implementing APIs that are flexible and simple to use for developers.   

Application developers who are interested in hearing more about this exciting area can register their interest at developers@smallcellforum.org