It sounds biological. But it’s not. A femtocell is a low-power cell phone access point that lets you use your phone over a broadband connection. Sounds good for those of us (and I include myself here) who don’t have excellent cell phone coverage where we live. But there’s some interesting news coming from the AT&T camp that might give us an idea where the future of cell phone networks is going.

Glenn Fleishman over at Ars Technica wrote earlier this month that AT&T may be looking to include femtocells with their high-speed Uverse broadband product. The information was released before an official announcement on the company’s Web site — the page has been removed, so the details may change. But if what was up there is correct, AT&T might just build a femtocell into the Uverse modem, which would help the company cut costs by using built-in femtocells to extend its network.

The 3G Microcell, as you may expect from its name, will be 3G only. That is, if the information that was previously up on AT&T’s Web site is correct.

Is your wireless provider offering the same type of service? Probably. Verizon, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile all offer femtocells to their customers in one form or another. Each has its own pricing and restrictions — check with your cell phone company if you’re interested in learning more.

Get the 411 on other related topics:

How Cell Phones Work
How Smartphones Work
How WiFi Works
How WiFi Phones Work