AT&T poised to roll out 3G MicroCell service

This seems like a hardware solution to a software problem.

Problem:
no network can cover every inch of the planet

Insight:
most places you spend a lot of time (home, office) have broadband internet already.

ATT Solution:
Create micro cell towers that customers can hook up to their own internet, expanding the cell network at their cost.

TMOBILE Solution:

Put wifi on every phone you can, and allow everything to be routed over that. This means that if you have access to a wifi network anywhere (coffeeshop, office, campus, home, client site) your phone will work.

I have a Blackberry Curve with that I've used to make calls miles from any cell service because I had access to wifi.

While the Microcell relieves a pain point for ATT customers, it is limited. Sure, you can get one for your house, but can you carry one around with you everywhere? ATT missed the boat by requiring you to buy hardware, rather than leverage every existing wifi router in existence. They still could have charged you to use the service, which would have been a much easier sell than a piece of hardware and (maybe) service.

They should be giving this to customers that they cannot provide good cell phone coverage, not making them pay extra.

beenyweenies said it best. This product is insulting.

I've had my iPhone for almost 16 months now. The first 11 were great, even in my remote area about 35 miles from Charlotte. Then a big storm hit, the whole region lost power for 36 hours, and when the towers came back up our 4-5 bars was now 0-1 bars and seven gripe-sessions later with AT&T produces nothing except resounding "Sorry"s. And everyone that has AT&T in my locale is affected. And is also calling & griping. And now AT&T has the brainiac idea of having me pay them to buy their hardware and pay them even more per month than the $168 I'm already begrudgingly sending them so that I can access their network? Via MY ISP?!

AT&T is so 2000-late, if I can borrow that lackluster phrase. I don't know of a single satisfied soul carrying an AT&T phone right now anywhere in my region. I won't be at all surprised if they shutter their wireless service again. The remarkable iPhone deserves a much better home.

How does AT&T get away with charging people $20/mo. to route calls through your ISP's network? Wondering what will the various ISPs have to say about this, something tells me it's just not going to be so simple.

And how is this any kind of value? In the end, you're paying an ISP bill, your iPhone bill, the $20/mo fee AND $150 for the device. Just to make calls in your own home? AT&T really needs to go under, and anyone who buys this is a SUCKER.

This device ought to be cheaper -- or free. Basically AT&T is going to use MY internet connection and MY electricity to expand THEIR network. And it looks like calls over MY internet connection count against my monthly airtime minutes unless I pony up an additional $20.

So let me get this straight. I'm a non-iPhone user, but I've been envious of the device ever since I got the iPod touch.

So you pay 60 dollars per month base charge to get the iPhone running.

You pay on top of that fee 150 dollars to get a reception antenna for your house. Sure fine, hardware charges and all that.

Then there's the $20 per month on top of that?

I'm sorry, but I can't justify paying 80 bucks a month just to get indoor phone service.

And on top of that, it's not worth it. It's easily assumed that in your house you've got your own wifi network running. Therefore the 'data' half of the iPhone's bill is useless. You're just short of doubling the 'phone' portion of your iPhone bill.


I'm sorry, but purchasing this product, IMO, is tantamount to paying an additional fee per month just to make sure that your toilet, which flushes fine, is restoring itself with new water each time. This is like consensual rape if there's such a thing.

I heard December for a wider roll out, but then again this is AT&T so who knows when it will really make it to the rest of us...

We might consider it since most of our iPhone calls are from home (though we do still have a landline for safety's sake).

This doesnt make sense:
"AT&T's rollout of the 3G MicroCell service will make the iPhone available to a wider audience of potential users, and may also benefit the overstressed AT&T network by decreasing the number of voice and data calls using the regular cell towers."

If you have good reception (ie, near cell tower) why switch to the microcell? And if you have an internet connection to plug the microcell into... why wouldnt you just use wifi? Somehow this doesnt seem like a valid argument. It does seem like a good idea to boost a low or nonexistant signal though.