AppleInsider Staff
AT&T, the exclusive carrier of Apple's iPhone in the U.S., announced Wednesday that it would begin the national rollout of the 3G MicroCell in mid-April. New markets will be activated in cities across the continental U.S. over the next several months, the company said.
The nation's second-largest wireless provider revealed that there will be no additional costs, other than the purchase of the 3G MicroCell device, for using the 3G MicroCell service, as minutes used through the hardware affect the account of the phone making the call. Individual or Family talk subscribers can pay $19.99 per month to make unlimited calls through the special femtocell hardware device.
The 3G MicroCell hardware will cost $149.99, but comes with a $100 mail in rebate for customers who select a MicroCell calling plan. In addition, customers who purchase a new line of broadband service with AT&T are also eligible for a $50 mail-in rebate. Those who select both could receive the hardware for free.
The hardware blankets a 5,000 square foot area, about a 40 foot radius from the device, to provide voice, data and text service coverage in areas that might otherwise be a "dead zone" for cell phone reception. The hardware supports up to four users making simultaneous calls, and up to 10 on 3G standby available for incoming calls and messages.
Last September, Charlotte, North Carolina was the first test market for the femtocell device, which provides 3.2Mbit/sec 3G service from the home. In order to support that bandwidth, the device must be connected to an appropriately fast broadband connection.
It was expected that AT&T would expand its 3G MicroCell service to other markets in 2009, but until this week availability was limited to Charlotte. In that test, the device was said to cost $150 and carried no monthly fees.
In February, AT&T expanded its trial of the 3G MicroCell service to five markets, adding select counties in Georgia, South Carolina, San Diego and Las Vegas.
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46 Comments
Cool. The other large providers are rolling out or have rolled out similar services. Not a big deal to me. Spectrum is a finite resource after all....
T-mobile should do the same. Their coverage is pretty spotty 'round here.
Let me get this straight. I pay $150 for a device that allows me to use an iPhone in my house where I already have much faster wifi in my house. That makes a lot of sense? How about one for my car so I can use my phone when I can't get a good signal, like most of the time.
Let me get this straight. I pay $150 for a device that allows me to use an iPhone in my house where I already have much faster wifi in my house. That makes a lot of sense? How about one for my car so I can use my phone when I can't get a good signal, like most of the time.
1) Yes, objects can affect radio transmissions from penetrating effectively so this is a valuable option for many. No, AT&T shouldn't be giving these away to customers just because. (you didn't suggest that, but someone will.)
2) WiFi won't help you make and receive calls on AT&T's network.
3) For your car a cellular signal boosting antenna would work best, assuming the issue is low instead of non-existant. I'm not even sure they have omni-diractional boosters for cars, but the home-based units cost more than the MicroCell.
I have been enjoying my 3G MicroCell since its introduction in the Charlotte test area. I live minutes from downtown Charlotte and in general have pretty good iPhone reception except at my house. (AT&T technical support indicated it is because I live at the bottom of a hill. Isn't it great that AT&T's network is so advanced that a hill can cripple it?) So much for ditching that landline...but wait--with the MicroCell I can now ditch my AT&T bungee cord.
Did it piss me off that I had to actually buy and pay for AT&T to get coverage I was already paying for? You betcha. Did it strike me as perversely bizarre that AT&T's "network" solution was to leech my bandwidth from my cable provider. You betcha. But in trying to find the good in the bad, now I can ditch my landline and position myself to kiss AT&T goodbye when Apple ends its exclusivity. Best $150 I ever spent.