Re: Free AT&T Microcell

[John Jones <chianime@xxxxxxxxx>]

It is a cell tower that uses _your_ broadband internet connection, not
AT&T's.  For AT&T they do not have to build out capacity to handle the
cellular traffic; their customers are providing it for them.  All they do is
some back-end routing.  Since AT&T saves money by not having to build out &
maintain as much capacity, microcell users should get a discount instead of
being asked to pay for these things.

BTW Sprint and Verizon have them as well.  I know lots of people got free
ones from Sprint (though like AT&T they still want to charge for them); I've
no idea about VZW.

If anyone feels that a microcell would help, I would suggest calling your
carrier and asking for customer retention.  Don't threaten to leave the
service but say you'll have no choice unless they can provide you with a
solution that lets you get calls in your home.

On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 9:35 PM, David Gibbs <david@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On 1/19/2011 7:25 PM, Scott Klement wrote:
> > Microcell is a signal booster.
> >
> > AT&T bills it as "like a mini cellular tower in your home or small
> > business environment."
>
> Actually, it *IS* a mini cell tower ... although it only handles 3G signals
> (and only for phones you specify).  It connects to the AT&T network via
> broadband (VOIP style).  When your phone is using the microcell the "3G"
> indicator changes to "3G M-Cell".
>
> It's range limited to about 40 feet in all directions.  When you leave the
> microcell's range it hands off active calls to a real cell tower (although a
> real cell tower can't hand off to the microcell when you go in range).
>
> Cell coverage at my house is pretty bad to, so I actually paid for one.
>
> It works pretty good ... although sometimes there's a noticeable lag when
> you're talking to someone.  It also seems to take longer to connect when
> dialing out.
>
> I setup QOS on my router for the microcell so my wife's secondlife activity
> (and my occasional bit torrent downloading) wouldn't effect call quality.
>
> The perceived downside, that it uses your cell minutes, is not a big deal
> ... the call has to go to POTS eventually.  You can also pay extra and get
> unlimited calls when you're using the microcell.
>
> david
>
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