picoChip is ready to conduct trials with several carriers this year and expects to see commercial LTE femtocell products in 2011. In an interview with ThinkFemtocell, Nigel Toon, CEO of picoChip shared his views on the state of the femtocell marketplace and how picoChip plans to address it.

"Our tests have shown a dramatic contrast between femto and macro performance for LTE of some 8:1. This is because LTE uses a variety of techniques to squeeze the most out of the radio spectrum. Modulation using 64QAM needs very high signal to noise ratios to achieve the peak data rates seen in lab tests, and performance benefits drop off quickly with range in real world scenarios, " said  Nigel Toon.

Femtocells are expected to play a crucial role in upcoming LTE networks. By employing small cells, operators can build their LTE networks in line with demand, thereby matching investment with revenue while also reducing capital expenditure.

picoChip designs has been named "Best Enabling Product/Technology for LTE" in the Informa LTE Awards this year. LTE awards had been annouced at LTE World Summit. picoChip's reference design is the industry’s first to include the LTE modem (PHY), radio frequency (RF) and packet processors, protocol software, intelligent router functionality and a complete Evolved Packet Core (EPC) simulator.