Verizon-brand Samsung femtocells spotted at FCC

Verizon will soon join Sprint in offering a femtocell option for its cellphone owners, an FCC filing shows. A Samsung Ubicell branded with the carrier's logo has turned up at the American regulator and performs a similar function as Sprint's AIRAVE by creating a local CDMA hotspot that uses the Internet connection for . The Verizon edition, however, appears to include an optional GPS receiver to find the Ubicell's position.

Few other details of Samsung's router are available, though the clear label points to a relatively close-by release of the Ubicell as an option for Verizon's network. If similar to the AIRAVE for pricing, the hardware would sell for about $100 and may need a subscription for some customers.

A WCDMA version, which would potentially open the Ubicell to AT&T and other carriers using HSPA for 3G, should be entering testing in 2009. [via Cell Phone Signal]