

A Cell Tower of Your Very Own - grellas
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703636404575353153350315146.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_tech

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drewcrawford
It's not really very much of a win for me, is it? I mean, basically I'm paying
$250 for the privilege of paying AT&T dollars per gigabyte for traffic that
goes through my own broadband connection that I'm already paying for.

I can't even begin to understand... why I would do that.

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zweben
I have one. I recently moved to an area with very poor AT&T coverage. I am
under contract with AT&T, and I wasn't pleased with the prospect of having to
go outside every time I wanted to make or receive a phone call from my house,
so this seemed good for me.

I bought one for $150 (not $250). It works, but not very well. On some calls I
get fairly severe audio distortion that makes it hard to understand people.
I'm not sure how to fix this yet. Still, though, it's better than not being
able to make or receive any phone calls at home.

Data usage isn't an issue because I have wifi, and call time isn't an issue
because I never get close to my limit anyway.

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chrisbolt
$150 is probably more than the early termination fee on your AT&T contract,
after proration.

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Retric
Heh,

So they all have the same range... _Provides signal for data and voice up to
5,000 square feet_ and none of them want to admit it's ~40 feet from the base
station. (40^2 * pi > 5000)

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dmarble
I'm coming up on 3 years of use for my T-Mobile Blackberry Curve 8320 w/ UMA
support. Still waiting for an all-around better device and network setup for
my usage pattern (messaging/emailing a lot, talking a lot, maps, occasional
web browsing).

While the T-Mobile coverage has sucked plenty in certain areas, I've had
nearly 3 years of satisfaction that if there's a wifi network, I have coverage
-- in various apartments where coverage sucked, deep inside work buildings
(where other service providers also can't penetrate), at other people's houses
where there isn't great coverage... and it costs me nothing. Unlimited
calls/data/messaging w/ UMA included: ~$90/month. Plus I can tether!

Anyone know if T-Mo is baking UMA support into any upcoming Android devices?

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gsiener
I've read rumors about a targeted Q3 release, though I'm not sure how they'd
push that out.

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bnchdrff
What's going on with magic jack's femtocell device? It was getting hyped this
past January... based on the PR, it's a femtocell that can hijack nearby GSM
phones and bridge them to magicjack's VOIP network. seemed bizarre.

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illumin8
It's illegal according to FCC regulations to broadcast on the same frequencies
that 3G carriers are licensed to use. You could probably buy some shady device
like this and import it from Asia, but you're going to be stepping all over
your neighbor's cell phone reception, or worse, sharing it out with them, if
it even worked in the first place.

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bnchdrff
Do you know if this was the case specifically with the magicjack device?

An average press clipping from mid-january: "The company said its device is
legal, arguing the spectrum licenses of GSM carriers such as AT&T Mobility and
T-Mobile USA do not extend into the home." (
[http://www.fiercewireless.com/ceslive/story/magicjack-
using-...](http://www.fiercewireless.com/ceslive/story/magicjack-using-gsm-
femtocell-technology-voip/2010-01-08) )

It's an interesting tack to take, and I'm very curious about whether the
stalled product launch was due to regulation/legal issues, or if magicjack
abandoned it for another reason.

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jwr
I find this whole microcell thing amazing. Your operator tells you that since
its service is sub-par and you can't get reception, you get the privilege of
a) paying $250, b) supplying your own broadband, c) still paying your crappy
operator, and d) being unable to move from within the cell to outside it
without dropping the call.

I mean — seriously, what kind of a deal is that?

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nhnifong
For all the author's sarcasm, it was not much a relief from the marketing-
speak that the cell companies are plagued by. But I am still glad they are
selling these. To me it is a symbolic gesture that says they actually care
about solving the many technical problems that they still face.

~~~
illumin8
To me it is a symbolic gesture that AT&T doesn't want to pay to upgrade their
terrible network, so they would rather the customers pay to buy and install
their own femtocells.

I, for one, will refuse to buy one. If AT&T on the other hand wants to provide
one free of charge, and pay me a reasonable fee of $25 per month for 2
gigabytes of bandwidth, I will be happy to host it for them.

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JoeAltmaier
"And because the device relies on a global positioning system to confirm its
location in a service area, it needs a clear line of sight to the sky. "

So, it doesn't work in a basement, or a garage, or really any place you might
actually need it?

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jgavris
San Diego city proper has complete M-Cell coverage. 5 bars and snappy latency
wherever I roamed. Still seems expensive when it's such a commitment to be
with an operator, anyway.

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petervandijck
I live overseas in an area with spotty wireless reception... any chance I
could use a similar technology to improve signal?

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Daniel_Newby
Sure! Cell phone repeaters and boosters are widely available.
<http://www.google.com/webhp?#q=cell+phone+repeater>

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known
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_On_Wheels>

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binaryfinery
I got one. Voice goes over M-Cell. Data goes over my wifi. 5 bars in entire
house. Getting rid of the land-line covers the $20/month unlimited usage (and
that gets you $100 rebate).

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illumin8
I'll give you a better idea: Instead of spending $149 to pay for an AT&T
femtocell, buy an Ooma VoIP phone for about the same money, plug it into your
cable modem, and never pay for a land line again. I bought Ooma 2 years ago
and it paid for itself in about 6 months of phone bills.

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mseebach
If it's for the same money, I'd prefer only having one number. I love the fact
that my cellphone is My Phone no matter where I am.

~~~
illumin8
Google Voice is your friend...

