AT&T to begin nationwide rollout of 3G MicroCell in mid-April

By on Mar 24, 2010 at 4:38 PM
Services March 24, 2010

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After months of testing, AT&T has finally announced the nationwide rollout of its 3G MicroCell. Starting in mid-April and continuing over the next several months, AT&T will gradually introduce its MicroCell to new markets across the continental US. The unit will offer both 3G data and voice service and will cost each customer $149.99 for the equipment upfront. Similar to other femtocells, the AT&T MicroCell will support up to ten handsets and allow four simultaneous connections. Customers can choose to either have AT&T deduct calling plan minutes for the calls made using the MicroCell or they can purchase an add-on plan for $19.99/month which allows them to make unlimited calls through the MicroCell without using minutes from their monthly voice plan. If you choose this $19.99 plan, AT&T will reward you by offering an additional $100 rebate which brings the price of the MicroCell down to a mere $49.99. If you really want to drink the AT&T koolaid, you can also sign up for AT&T broadband service (DSL or U-Verse 1.5MB or greater) and receive a second mail in rebate for $50, bringing the final price of the device to a $100 if you select just the DSL or a cool $0 if you are eligible for both rebates. Any AT&T customers with fringe coverage interested?

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  • Trendkiller

    Why AT&T?,

    You were dumb enough not to figure out a phone doesn’t work in your house within 30 days? Sounds like your fault and not AT&T’s regarding the ETF. Never heard of a $300 ETF either. VZ has a $350 ETF.

  • Ayy

    Fuck bitches get money

    • http://www.volkswagen.de Michael

      Love that song.

  • Alex

    Hi

    I am in England and Vodafone have a similar product called “sure signal”. Works in the same way in that you pay Vodafone for the box as a one off fee or as an extra charge per month. You then plug it into “Your” wifi router and then your calls go via the internet. Any calls you make come out of your monthly allowance or your charged. Its also locked down in the same way in that it will only work with the 10 Vodafone mobiles that you allow.

    There are lots of unhappy comments here from people asking why are we paying Vodafone extra so that we can make calls? Is it not up to Vodafone to offer a signal that works everywhere? The UK is a small country with a lot of people. So you would think that there would be good signal everywhere. Well there is not. Buildings, hills etc effect the signal.

    In my case T-Mobile offer a great signal in my house, but when I travel around the Uk their signal is not great. Vodafone have limited signal at home but a signal when out and about. So I mean I can have a phone that I can use at home, but not really depend on when out and about or I can have a phone that I can’t trust at home but works when I am out. With Vodafone Gateway it fixes this problem.

    Also like the At&t product it will only work in the UK. So I can’t take it to France and plug it into my router there to make free calls.

    It has been reported that other networks in the Uk will start to offer this type of service but so far nothing.

    Orange on some of their Blackberrys offer UMA that lets you route calls via any wifi router. This does not cost you anything. However the range of handsets is limited and Orange don’t seam to be advertising the fact that they offer this product.

    Alex

  • David

    Why would anyone need this booster…AT&T has the best 3G Coverage in the Nation…LOL.

  • Kupe

    Ingenious. AT&T is encouraging their subscribers to pay additional money out of their pocket in an attempt to make their network usable.

  • Bill

    To the ATT bashers; this device is better than the Network Extender offered by Verizon, which is offered for the same reason. However, Verizon unit does not extend to data, just voice. Some of you folks really talk out of total ignorance just to see yourself on the net.

    • Doug

      Why on earth would you need this to extend to data? The micro cell (or femtocel) attaches to your internet router. Just connect up to the WiFi already in your house. Let’s see do I want 3G download speeds or my Comcast 30Mbps circuit ………….

      • Motoroi

        Agreed, if you have to be near a computer, then why not just use you computer.

      • whoareu

        a. not everyone has WIFI
        b. if you have corporate email going to your smartphone and can ONLY access it through there.
        c. not all phones have WIFI.

      • Bill

        Thank you whoareu..seems at least someone got the point.

      • Bill48105

        All whoareu said PLUS WiFi uses a LOT of battery and you’re already connected by cell so why have it enabled if you don’t need to?

        Btw although a cell phone doing data over WiFi is likely faster than 3G, phones do not go anywhere near 30mbit over WiFi.. At least none I’ve tried & even my semi-modern Touch Diamond barely touches my 20Mbit Charter speed. Besides, most of the time I use my computer when I’m home. ;)

    • FarmerBob

      . . . and it looks like Fermilab.

      • Doug

        I see FarmerBob lives near Doug.

  • Todd

    Funny that the AT&T site for the product is all in Flash and can’t be browsed from a 3G iPhone…

  • asher

    Im getting one, unlimited calling for 20 bucks a month. Im down. And it will route my mms through the microcell making those go faster too. AT&T is a good company, and for everyone that hates them, go to Verizon and stop crying about not having an iPhone.

  • muze

    sooo… i pay at&t 50 bucks, and then 20 bucks a month (or nothing for the thing with u-verse, but then 120 bucks a month) in order to take a whole bunch of traffic off of their network. i assume that the 3G signal that comes from the microcell is usable by any at&t subscribers in range, not just you the purchaser.

    i feel like i’m doing at&t a favor by crutching their shitty network with my internet subscription, why should i pay them? they should be knocking money off of my bill.

    i wonder how the ISPs feel about the wireless carriers offloading a bunch of traffic on them.

    • whoareu

      Hey Muze pay attention retardo. It is for those that have weak or no signal in an area they need to use it. It is not meant to take traffic off its network. Your calls and data will STILL be going through AT&T’s servers to where ever your calling. People don’t realize that a lot of a wireless network is actually……WIRED. And if you read like at least at a 5th grader level you would see that it only accepts numbers you program on it. Random people can’t just hog your Microcell. Also Your not paying them unless you wanted unlimited minutes, which you can choose WITHOUT getting a Microcell by just switching your plan cheap-ass. Dam people are so negative and stupid.

      • UofLFan502

        Ur being negative right now, like my good friend walter from the big lebowski once said “I’m calmer than you are.” Why does everyone get so heated on these forums. For some people ATT is what fits them best, and for other people VZW fits them best. We are comparing apples and oranges, and apples being att for obvious reasons, wait for it! HAHAHAHAHAHA man i’m funny. and i can’t wait to see how many people call me stupid for this…

  • Ghostnyc

    If you have AT&T coverage at home, why would you need this device? How are you getting any benefit from this device if it plugs into your existing WiFi (which you pay for), how do you control access to device OR can any device within range use it? Which in effect would be towards AT&T’s benefit turing your home into a WiFi access point. Maybe cause its Friday and its been a long week, but Im not really seeing the benefit of spending more money on a device I may not need.

    • outphase

      The device is not for you then. It’s for people who can’t get signal in their homes.

    • Bill48105

      1. $20/month *option* for unlimited calling while connected to the MicroCell which could be an especially good deal on family plan otherwise uses minutes like normal
      2. Odds are better coverage inside buildings even if you have signal
      3. Gives you 3G even if you only have GSM/EDGE in your area

      Big drawback: Only works with 3G phones.

      Btw: Public cannot connect to it without the owner registering the phone with AT&T in web account first.

  • cflow

    What about Verizon’s network extender costing $250? my house is a verizon black hole. my verizon service is perfect outside of the house, but i can’t get signal or 3g anywhere inside my house. i desperately need the network extender but $250?! absolutely not. why aren’t we bitching about verizon’s $250 network extender? just because at&t has worse coverage doesn’t mean verizon should be left out of this debate.

  • T-Bone

    I am thinking about getting this. I get spotty service in my apt at best. sometimes it will be great then Ill just drop the call in the middle and have to wait on hold to talk to someone again. I do think it is robbery that you have to pay extra for minutes that use your ISP connection. 20 seems excessive since AT&T is reaping a huge bennie here by reducing strain on their network at most it should have been 5 buck maybe 10 and thats pushing it. I think 150 plus 5 extra a month for unlimited minutes using the Microcell is acceptable and I dont mean 5 per phone I mean 5 bucks extra an account, be it a single phone or a family plan. I might sign up for the 20 buck plan get the discount on the microcell then cancel it later. depending on my increased use.

  • Chris

    The microcell is available!!, Set up was easy and the unit was live in about ten minutes. Sound quality is great and works as advertised. So far my only negative is the range. I’m getting about a 30 to 40 foot radius from the unit and then it is gone. If youve got no signal in your apartment or office this will work!

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