Qualcomm is the latest high-profile industry player to back the emerging femtocell sector, announcing an undisclosed investment in UK-based startup ip.access. Qualcomm joins ip.access investors Cisco Systems, Intel Capital, Motorola Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners and Rothschild Gestion. ip.access is involved in multiple operator trials worldwide for its home basestation technology, including AT&T and Vodafone, reportedly. Although this is Qualcomm’s first official move into the femtocell market, it has long been expected by industry insiders to introduce a femtocell chipset.

The femtocell sector is experiencing significant momentum at present. Earlier this month StarHub announced a six-month user trial, adding to other operator interest from the likes of Verizon, Sprint Nextel, Telefonica O2 Europe, Softbank, Orange France and TeliaSonera. In March T-Mobile’s venture arm announced it is trialling femtocells from British startup Ubiquisys – a rival to ip.access – and has also made an undisclosed investment in the company, mirroring an earlier move by Google. Meanwhile, the GSMA and the Femto Forum today announced a partnership that will see both parties work together on development of the technology.