Verizon launching Wireless Network Extender femtocell on January 25
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 18th 2009 11:36PM
posted January 18th 2009 11:36PM
posted January 18th 2009 11:36PM
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There went the one reason I had to switch to Sprint. Oh, wait; the non-screwed version of the Touch Pro. So the war is not yet won.
They both confuse me, but is it femTOcell or femOTcell? typo?
250.00?
is verizon not aware the airave is 100 bucks?
if i have to pay 250 bucks for better coverage in a rural area why wouldnt i just switch and pay the 200 ETF?
sometimes i really wonder what crack are they smoking at verizon
If the coverage sucks, why would you pay an ETF? Clearly, the carrier is obligated to provide service. If they advertise the "best" coverage, and do not provide it, how is it that people continue to pay full price for their service? And then pay an ETF when they are dissatisfied?
i just dont understand how you can sell a customer the value of your product when its more than doubly expensive than your competitors
makes no sense...unless there is no monthly fee..which would also make no sense
And this $250 will give us free calls when we use the femtocell since we're using OUR internet for the calls RIGHT?
I wish AT&T would do this!! Obviously not at $250 but it is pretty frustrating not to be able to get decent signal at home. Of course it also sucks paying for iPhone 3G service when there is no 3G coverage anywhere near my home!!
AT&T are working on it.
I kinda like T-Mobile's solution, and kinda don't. T-Mobile uses UMA, where your phone seamlessly uses Wifi to connect to the network, using the Internet essentially as one big tower. Unfortunately, there are about minus six phones out there that support it. It'd be nice for the GSM operators to do both, offering femtocell base stations and encouraging manufacturers to build UMA into their phones, but I guess the technologies are seen as redundant (despite Wifi being carrier agnostic) and so we're going to be stuck in this either/or situation for the time being.
According to its web site, T-Mobile USA actually offers seven (7) UMA-capable WiFi phones currently (a few more if alternative colors are included) plus three more that have been announced but are not yet available in the stores (Blackberry 8900, HTC Shadow II and Nokia 7510) for a total of ten within the next month or two. This includes EVERY SINGLE Blackberry -- 8120, 8220, 8320, 8820 and 8900 -- that T-Mobile USA offers.
WiFi has the additional benefit of being universal to any device that wants to connect to it. With Femtocells, it's one Femtocell per carrier. Therefore, in a multi-carrier household or business, you will need to install one Femtocell from Verizon, one from Sprint, one from... well, you get the point. With WiFi: just use the same good ol' Linksys router you already have; nothing to buy or install.
AFAIK T-mobile requires you to use their router to use UMA, which you may not want to use and/or it may conflict with another service that requires you use a special router (Comcast business class, etc.).
So here's a big thumbs down to any service which requires you to use a special router.
NO! T-Mobile USA does NOT require the use of any special router. You can use any WiFi router. Having said that, T-Mobile USA's price for a Linksys or D-Link router is $50 minus $50 rebate = $zero. Most people I know use whichever Netgear or Linksys router they happen to have at home already.
And that's why T-Mobile's solution is so much better- It's nice not having to pay stratospheric roaming rates.
Is there a monthly fee for this thing?!
$250 with no monthly fees. Minutes still apply, you are still apply.
T-Mob has had this for like two or three years now..... HOT SPOT @ HOME, and usually if you get a wifi phone, the router is free. And if you want, its 9.99 for unl wifi calling or you could just let it come out of your minutes. Yea T-Mob. Besides, Sprint will be lucky to finish out the year with the amt of $ and subscribers they are losing.
There is NO monthly fee for this, just a 1 time up front charge for $249.99, which I admit is a bit steep. However, there are quite a few people who may find themselves in an area with subpar coverage yet don't want to leave VZW either due to liking their phone, having A LOT of IN calling, etc. If you live in an area where VZW service is crappy and you don't have a lot of other VZW folks you talk to, you might as well find another carrier, ETF or not.
But for some, this is a viable option.
well i've been a Verizon subscriber for years --that's what my parents chose and we have a family plan-- but we get no reception at the house. i usually leave the house and get a lump of voicemails and text messages all at the same time. the only phones i've seen work out here are my friends AT&T phones. this would probably solve that problem but $250 is very steep.
im a college student and i have a steady job now so im going to get my own plan pretty soon and had my eye on Sprint (which doesnt have service out here either so what's the difference). mostly since i could get a great phone (Pre, or one of the new Treos), at a lower price, and get the AIRAVE for $100 and have better service. and since like you mentioned i could pay the ETF and get an AIRAVE for $250, this really isn't doing it for me.
So No EVDO rev a. data?? and what about when they roll out LTE later this year? Am I paying 250 bucks for something that is useless to me by summer?
Why would it be useless by summer? This is intended to improve VOICE coverage, which will use 1XRTT for many more years to come, even well after LTE rolls out.
they should be paying me to take this off their hands.
Don't forget - you're also paying your cable or DSL provider for Internet service to support Verizon in their efforts. I've heard that the biggest cost of a wireless network is the backhaul... but here, YOU'RE paying for the backhaul in addition to paying for the device. Does this really make sense?!?
Beware of the Verizon version. It does NOT promise unlimited calling like the Sprint Airave. I have the Airave and I love it. Verizon is just ripping people off, and since they are the biggest, they don't care.