At CTIA 2010, AT&T announced that its 3G Microcell signal booster will be available nationally starting mid-April 2010. The device was tested in select markets in 2009. 3G Microcell uses your broadband connection to handle calls and data instead of traditional wireless signal. Devices like it are a godsend for people that live in areas with poor coverage or want to be able to use their mobile phone in basements. AT&T customers in New York and San Francisco — two areas where the company’s coverage is poor — can have a stopgap solution with 3G Microcell.
The 3G Microcell costs $149.99, but there are a few rebates available to bring the cost down. A $100 rebate is available to customers that select a Microcell plan, while an additional $50 is available to customers that also get AT&T DSL or U-verse Internet service. A $19.99 plan add-on allows users to make unlimited Microcell calls.
One of the reasons I switched to T-Mobile was because of its similar (but way more flexible) UMA service. Being able to use WiFi to make and receive calls has been incredibly useful to me, especially when travelling internationally. While Microcell is more limited, it should help the millions of AT&T customers that love their iPhone but hate AT&T’s service.
Are any of you interested in this product? Would you use it at home or bring it to the office?
if it doesn't cost me more monthly I'd definitely do it, I hate the service at the house. I know magic jack is coming out with a cell solution similar to this, although that doesn't take minutes up. I've heard pretty good things about that product.
@ Smartguy
I have enough rollover minutes to last me for a long time. I don't use my phone to talk on the phone a whole lot. I'm a guy. Most of my conversations are like "What's up dude?… What's going on?… trying to get together?… alright, I'll see you then… bye" or "Baby, while your at the store could you pick up (whatever product)? awesome, I love you, bye". My longest phone conversations are to my mom back in Pittsburgh, and I tend to only call her on the weekends. Whenever I fly back to Pittsburgh, i tend to use a bunch of minutes catching up with people while I'm there, but that's only because it's a higher number of conversations like the first one I mentioned in a more condensed time space.
Either way, I have no trouble with minutes at all.
I don't see myself getting this. I don't seem to have issues with my phone service, it's just the battery life. My phone barely lasts the whole day even when i have it plugged in at home. Hopefully this is one of the many baby steps at&t takes to better their service. I just need them to lower the price a little bit more too.
@ Smartguy
I see your point. I have to call the state of Pennsylvania every year because they've been trying to tax me for school taxes every year since I moved to California. They know I live here now, but I suppose they're hoping I forget one day and send them the money anyway.
I'm just saying that it wouldn't matter to me regardless because it will be a long time before I'd actually have to pay for extra minutes. But even then, I get good signal at my house. It would have been cool to have this at my old office (literally in the middle of the desert) where I got crap signal, but right now I have no need for something like this.
My inquiry is: will an app come that uses this technology to enable iPod Touch users to make phone calls?
Speaking about apps, Justin.tv just released an app recently that streams their channels to your phone. I found this channel:
http://www.justin.tv/xchrisv3x#r=7EZ1iwI~
It runs WWE 24/7 from the era of like 1997 through 2002. Today i saw the Raw where the Undertaker and (masked) Kane came down and and broke up every match. It was great.
@n8r
thanks for the info. I just downloaded it!
@ Smartguy
You can buy the same headset you use for an iPhone.
Ultimately I think the real question is whether AT&T users that live areas with inexcusably poor coverage (NYC, SF) should have to pay anything just so their phone works like it's supposed to. I like that T-Mobile UMA is a "free" option. I didn't have to by any extra equipment or incur any extra charges to take advantage of it.
@Ray
Add in to the fact that areas where ATT has bad reception there also probably isn't a hi speed provider.
Your minutes still tick down eventhough you are using your broadband connection. A coworker was a beta user for this.
No. I’m not paying them, what, three times for the same service that shouldn’t suck in the first place.
@Smartguy Of course they do, unless you opt for the $19.99 unlimited plan. T-Mobile has the same deal. UMA minutes can count against your bucket or you can get an unlimited $9.99 add-on.
@Ray
Yeah, but since you are taking the load off of their “cell” network why should it count down your minutes? It would be like counting your data usage on wifi if you had a cap.
All in all the guy I know who used it thought it worked well enough.
@rpad – so if I spend $150 I can just use this thing and take my regular minutes without adding any monthly costs?
@Smartguy Yes, I understand that, but for some people it’s worth it to have a good signal. I’m sure it does work well. Sprint’s similar device works fine. T-Mobile UMA — which is better than either of them since it uses plain WiFi — is great.
@Shockwave562 AT&T did not reveal info on the Microcell plans, but ideally it shouldn’t cost more.
@ Rollover minutes
Yeah, I just checked. My wife and I share the 550 minute plan and we have 2152 unused rollover minutes.
Thankfully, my wife doesn’t really know a whole lot of people and is pretty quiet even if she did.
@N8R
It was more the principle of the thing. If you are removing your call from their cell network then you shouldn’t be docked for using their network.
@N8R
Does an Ipod Touch have a mic?
That was a great episode. Amazing I can recall it with that short description.
Misty Mountain Hop is perhaps one of the best songs to study Tax.
I know that just 2 miles down the road from me cell service sucks and they have to use Dial-up or HughesNet Satellite. On HughesNet you are limited to 200Mb per 24-hours. So you pay AT&T and buy this, then again when you use your minutes and then pay someone when you run out out data on your Sat. Connection.
So for people in already bad areas it sounds like it'll cost lots to have their phones work the way they should.
from what I’ve read from people who are in the test markets apparently you can just buy the unit for 150 bucks and use your minutes up without adding any fees to your account. I would definitely be down for this in that case.
still, it’s annoying that I have to pay for something to borrow my own internet connection so that my phone will actually work in the house… frustrations aside I’ll probably get one.