AT&T Microcell to Boost iPhone Reception in 5 More Markets
George Ponder over at sibling site WMExperts brings word that AT&T’s Microcell — the device you plug into your home cable/DSL connection to boost your phone reception — is being rolled out to Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
If you are lucky enough to live in these areas, all you need to do is visit AT&T’s 3G Microcell website and enter your specific zip code to see if the Microcell is available. If you are in one of these trial areas, you will be provided with a list of retail locations where you can purchase the Microcell. There was no mention on the pricing for the Microcell itself but it appears, in reading the fine print, the service will run $19.99 per month. There are still rumors that bundled discounts will be available to lower the monthly cost.
UPDATE: Per wxbrad in the comments, here’s what those discounts looks like:
You buy the Micro-cell for $150 if you buy a calling plan you get a $100 rebate. The plan allows you and up to 10 3g devices to make unlimited calls off your Micro-cell. IF you have other AT&T services this plan rate drops to 9.99 a month.
While many might gaff at the idea of paying AT&T for the privilege of using their home internet connection to fix AT&T’s coverage, for others — especially in business who just. need. a. signal — this rollout likely can’t come fast enough.
If you’re in one of those markets and take the Microcell for a whirl, let us know how it works for you. If you’re not, how eager are you for it to get to your market?
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That’s just stupid! U have to pay for the booster and pay monthly for it, like charging us 30 dollars a month is not bad enough and now they r asking us to pay more so we can use the phone? They r out of their mind!
Gee, George should do some homework before writing – It’s not really 5 “more” markets – it is only 1 – LV. The other 4 markets have been test areas before. And there is no monthly charge – there is an unlimited minutes option for $20/mo but you do not have to buy it. You can use your existing minutes. The Microcell itself is $150.
I just want this thing to hit Chicago. Too much to ask, AT&T? Probably.
still find this absolutely amazing that they would charge for this but whatever floats their boat. at least i got full service pretty much anywhere I go. Otherwise I wouldnt have ATT.
I can’t wait till it’s fully avaliable cell service dosnt work where my dad lives I’d like to be able to get him one
@BBYM – Oh no!! $30!! Try living in the UK mate.
I’ve had this Micro-cell since last year in Charlotte, NC as we were a test market for it. You don’t have to to pay for the service if you don’t want it. You buy the Micro-cell for $150 if you buy a calling plan you get a $100 rebate. The plan allows you and up to 10 3g devices to make unlimited calls off your Micro-cell. IF you have other AT&T services this plan rate drops to 9.99 a month. While I don’t have this plan you could easily drop your land line and get unlimited calling from your home or business for 9.99 a month, plus if you start a 3g call at home then leave the call moves to the 3g network the call is still unlimited. Work great with my iphone, I recommend it if you have poor or no service or you want to drop your land line for good!
I picked up my microcell last Friday when I received a mailer indicating it was available in my area (Greensboro, NC). After some issues with activation that were resolved by a helpful AT&T tech support agent it has worked perfectly. While I have good coverage at home I got it for the optional unlimited calling plan. All in all it is a great product.
I would consider this for the unlimited calling. I have a good AT&T signal in my house as well as UVERSE TV, DSL and Phone. My wireless plan is for the family with 3 phones on it and unlimited calls at home for $9.99 would be great since my plan is not eligible for the A-List Program and I would probably drop the UVERSE phone and port home number to google voice or something.
I still find it ammusing they are pushing this into markets that already have great 3G coverage. Yeah way to go AT&T give the people who are already in huge cities and have good 3G already a chance at having even better coverage. Meanwhile I live north of San Fran on a military base where I barely get EDGE and they dont give this stuff to our market area. Thanks again AT&T for being dumb!
WxBrad. Good post. Alot of info left out here. By TiPb. It’s all good though. And the picture of the microcell here isn’t even close. The one that’s available is the white and orange star wars looking one. For more information see the microcell site
http://www.wireless.att.com:80/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
Right on, Brian. I live in the heart of Los Angeles, but there’s a several block patch here of bad service and EDGE-only service that I’m in the middle of. There is no AT&T service inside my apartment, and I have to leave my phone in a specific place in the apartment and use Bluetooth… even then, it doesn’t work well all the time. Why isn’t AT&T letting people shore up their own home coverage in cities that are known problem areas?
Um. This isnt impressive at all. Why do I nee to get additional hardware for my cellphone network ? Maybe it’s just a temp place holder until AT&T gets better spectrum.
What caught my attention is how you can start a call on the micro-cell but if you go outside of the range and come back you’ll still be on the tower signal. The reason why you have the micro-cell is to help with reception in your home right ? if I dont have good reception in my house, staying on the tower makes no sense.
I will be ending my contract with AT&T a year in my contract which will be in December. It is nothing good about this company. People have to send me a picture like 10 freaking times and I still will not get it. And please it’s not their damn cell service but AT&T’s
Very eager to come to my area. I have no signal at my house and would love to have this thing, however att is taking forever to follow through here WTF!!
Here’s a great blog from last year by another local guy who bought one and set it up, good read.
http://jasonnash.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/review-of-the-att-3g-microcell/
Ok, I’m confused. Do you or do you not have to subscribe to some kind of calling plan (over and above what you have with the phone) to use this thing? If so, count me out. The idea that I’m going to pay AT&T for cell phone service, pay Cox cable for internet service, and then pay AT&T AGAIN so my cell phone can connect using Cox’s cable service, is too ludicrous to even consider. I don’t need unlimited calling, so that’s no attraction.
I’ve had this in Raleigh for a couple of months now – nothing but frustration. Don’t get me wrong, I get a great signal now throughout the house. However, it constantly knocks the modem off the Internet. Some things I’ve read say that it is a bandwidth hog and somehow messes up the Internet connection that way. No help from AT&T dsl to resolve, and because the wireless department is considered a separate business- they won’t help with the microcell at all. AT&T wireless tells me to shut off some of my security – however they also said that this was only happening on the 2wire modem/router combo. I’ve also read that the only way to stop it from killing your connection is to put it between your modem and router. I have yet to try this because I’d need to buy a new modem and use my old router. I’ve tried software updates, but there are none. It also likes to drop calls alot! Alot! However my iPhone does say I have a full signal.
This is by far the stupidest way to market a product I’ve ever seen. AT&T is basically telling their customers: “Hey, our network really sucks in alot of places, so here, buy this product and then pay us more money because our network sucks.” I can understand buying a Microcell but defintely not paying more for the “service”.
Earth to ATT: Stop gouging your customers. When I was with Sprint, I complained about poor reception at my house. A check doing some triangulation (a tool Spring had) showed I was indeed in the middle of a cell tower triangle. They agree to provide their AirRave free of charge. ATT customers should COMPLAIN LOUDLY once this device comes out, and request freebies. I am SICK AND TIRED of paying ATT for their 20th century network in my iPhone (no 3G still) and I am sure not going to pay for the poor cell network reception. ATT … LISTEN … remember your loyal customers (I assume you know this is 2010 and not 1910).
Like Chando, I am in the Raleigh area. I picked up a microcell after seeing it in action at a buddies house and him claiming it worked great. I live slightly out of town and the coverage in my neighborhood isn’t so great inside the house. The microcell drops 9 out of 10 calls, I can hear myself echoing on the call and people say I sound muffled. I have made numerous calls to AT&T and in their defense, they have come forward and said they are still testing the device and it isn’t yet perfected. I do get 5 bars showing on the phone, but it doesn’t exactly feel like a five bar experience. For those that are anxiously awaiting the release of the microcell in their market, be patient. It isn’t quite ready yet.
I work in the Wireless Operations department at an AT&T reseller out of the Carolinas. We are currently testing the Microcell before launching it to our customers. Here’s the complete lowdown:
The unit itself does cost $150. There is an OPTIONAL unlimited calling plan available for $19.99/month. If you elect to not sign up for the unlimited Microcell calling, you will just simply use your existing call plan minutes just as you do on the wireless network today. There is an $100 MIR from AT&T is available, but ONLY if you sign up for the OPTIONAL unlimited Microcell calling.
The Microcell does connect to your existing high-speed broadband connection. You are allowed to activate up to 10 AT&T-only mobile numbers (sorry for those of you with friends/family on T-Mobile/Verizon/Sprint) for the device. These may be changed on the fly via an AT&T website for managing the Microcell. The unit can handle up to 4 simultaneous transactions (calls or active data sessions) at any given time. Als, the Microcell is ONLY compatible w/ 3G devices & SIM cards. Older, 2G devices will not function on the Microcell.
Calls/data sessions initiated on the Microcell WILL transfer over to the strongest network cell site (if available) if you leave the range or the Microcell. However, the reverse in NOT the case. Calls/data sessions will NOT transfer over to the Microcell once you get in range. As well, in our limited testing of the device, there have been many cases in which a device had to power cycle in order to get back onto the Microcell once it was back within the Microcell’s range.
I hope this helps clarify some things, and maybe helps a few of those users that already have one of these units…
I purchased one on Sunday and set it up in my office. It worked great the first day and had landline sound quality. The second day, it dropped a few calls that went more then 30 minutes and now,on the third day, calls are dropping every 4-5 minutes. Very disappointing. Tech support – via chat – which is slow, wants me to reinstall and start the 2 hour set up again and then see what happens! Not sure if it’s worth the effort or not. This is dropping more calls on my iPhone than the poor 3g signal. I may go back to using Skype as that worked pretty well.
I’ve never had much trouble with my iPhone until the last couple of months. Slow 3G access and dropped calls are the latests problems. I can only assume how expensive this would be, but I would much prefer if AT&T simply worked on their cell towers instead of these “signal boosters”. Of course, if they did not that, it would kind of hard for them to justify a “cell tower service fee”. Nonetheless, an improvement to the network is welcome although I am not in one of the 5 golden cities.