Qualcomm takes stake in femtocell firm ip.access

Femotcells have been given another boost this week with the news that mobile chipmaker and IP giant Qualcomm has decided to invest an undisclosed sum in UK femotcell maker ip.access. It’s not the first to take such a step – T-Mobile put its money into fellow femtocell company Ubiquisys earlier this year, joining Google in its list of investors.

Ip.access, for its part, already has a number of big names among its roster of backers – Cisco, Intel Capital, Motorola Ventures – but adding the likes of Qualcomm certainly won’t hurt and the company has talked up Qualcomm’s usefulness in terms of providing “knowledge and industry experience” (presumably not to mention a fair whack of cash).

The announcement comes at the same time as industry body Femto Forum is conducting work into standardisation and adding a raft of new members. While there’s the usual accusations of hype being thrown in femtocells’ direction, it certainly looks like the big names in mobile think it’s time to put their money where their mouth is.