AT&T announces expanded availability of 3G MicroCell

It may not be the news that folks in some particularly problematic areas have been waiting for, but AT&T has now announced that it's finally expanded availability of its 3G MicroCell beyond its initial testbed cities like Raleigh and Charlotte. The new markets apparently include some additional areas of North Carolina, along with new parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and San Diego, plus the addition of Las Vegas -- the only entirely-new market of the bunch. Hit up the link below to punch in your zipcode for exact availability, and all the necessary details to get "five bars in your own home." And if you're curious about exactly what this whole femtocell thing is about, be sure to check out our impressions of the device.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[karangamar Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:29PM]

cool story bro

[Nitesh Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:34PM]

@karangamar *sprays some troll-be-gone*

[HerbieDerb Posted Feb 25th 2010 7:07PM]

@Nitesh

I feel sorry for ATT's bandwidth.

[jandersonn Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:38PM]

Cool, very cool indeed!

[tmiw Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:39PM]

AT&T hasn't updated their availability database yet, it seems. Two San Diego zip codes I tried came up as "unavailable".

(from what I hear from people with iPhones here, there aren't really any service problems anyway, but this is good for places like my apartment, which only gets EDGE indoors.)

[JoelBarish Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:58PM]

@tmiw I'm glad you and your friends don't have this problem, but myself and two friends can tell you that San Diego has plenty of missing coverage (hello select areas of Hillcrest, Pacific Beach, and University Heights). Hopefully AT&T will update their availability info soon, because this would be nice to have.

[dogcow Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:39PM]

Just to be clear here, AT&T wants me to pay $130 for this device which will offload their 3G load onto my Comcast broadband account. Without telling Comcast. Is that about it?

[kgod0wnz Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:46PM]

As dogcow said, this yet makes no sense for me.

So I, a loyal user, will have to **PAY** AT&T to offload their network or to have access in a area that is not covered due to their incapability to extend their coverage? Besides that, this little piece of plastic will drain some electricity (and another few bucks) and broadband every month?

This is seriously odd. But that's ok, femtocells are cool anyway, aren't they?

[trentblase Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:51PM]

@kgod0wnz On top of that, I ALREADY own a device that will link my phone to my cable modem. It's called a wifi router. So just let my phone connect to AT&T's gateway over wifi and be done with it (yes, this would require an update to my iphone firmware, but it would be totally worth it and save everyone money).

[Frankenstein Black Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:59PM]

@dogcow

Read previous posts from some of the NC Engadget regulars.
There are ways to get this box FOR FREE!!!
A FREE 3G voice and data home Cell Site? This is a “no brainier”. SIGN ME UP!!!

[aschettler Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:46PM]

@trentblase Because EVERYBODY has an iPhone or a WiFi capable device...

[BigJayDogg3 Posted Feb 25th 2010 8:37PM]

@aschettler

How many modern smartphones lack WiFi?

And just give a firmware update to other phones.

Better yet, release an application that can run in the background. You initialize it, it turns off your phone's cellular radio, and tells AT&T to route your calls to the phone over the internet.

That would allow me to offload your network not only when I'm home, but when I'm in the coffee shop, the hospital, on campus, at work, etc. Many people, especially the ones that frequent Engadget live in a WiFi cloud.

[GalinMD Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:58PM]

@dogcow My house is a dead zone for all carriers (yes, even your beloved one that you swear has coverage everywhere). The inside of my roof is lined with metal (energy efficiency option, good for hot desert summers). Phones work on my doorstep/driveway, but once inside all calls die. It's not any of the carriers fault (yes I have AT&T and an iPhone), just unlucky circumstances.

I just picked this up today and am so happy that I can finally make/receive calls in my house! I will have to say, the GPS lock is lame...trying to get it activated was difficult because it was having a hard time getting a GPS signal, with the metal roof and all.

[Firehazel Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:40PM]

Alright! I live in south carolina, near a metropolitan area! Too bad I already have AT&T for DSL... and Verizon for cellular service. I don't realy have a use for it...

[Mentat Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:38PM]

@Firehazel
why did you waste your time posting that?

[TheGM Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:44PM]

This would have been an amazing if only it didn't have the word microcell in the title.

[Meekermoloko Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:47PM]

Will this just do 3G or will it also expand on the 2G/Edge as well?

[Phoenix Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:40PM]

@Meekermoloko

Not entirely sure, but from what I've heard, it's purely 3G.

[Meekermoloko Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:50PM]

@Meekermoloko

I usually use 2G since it saves on battery quite a bit, but I guess if you have this at home, you could have the phone plugged in at all times.

I'm fine where I am for 3G, but at my parents house, they can't get signal very well unless they are near a window or are outside. So, it's not that 3G isn't in the area, it just can't penetrate their house for some reason.

Maybe I'll just look into that Z-boost extender for them.

[netposer Posted Feb 26th 2010 9:14AM]

@Meekermoloko

3G devices only. Does not do EDGE.

And if you have a 3G device you have to have a newer SIM card or you'll get a warning about your SIM card not being supported.

I have 2 of these devices in my office. The first one was shipped with bad firmware so it never worked since the ATT servers could not push an update to it. The second device worked for a couple of weeks then decided to stop working.

We gave up on these in our office environment because you had to be pro-active with each user. I would be better if you had a choice of "anyone" can connect or use their access list.

[liuping Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:54PM]

San Diego has had the 3G MicroCells for well over a month. They sent out an email and everything.

[msatlas Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:59PM]

Skype over wifi does the trick nicely.

[NuShrike Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:30PM]

@msatlas Exactly... Why pay AT&T more for raping you... Might as well pay less by switching to T-Mobile.

[Galley Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:00PM]

Getting five bars at home is not a problem. It's work where I get no signal 95% of the time.

[Meekermoloko Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:19PM]

@Galley

work ... from home.

problem solved.

;)

[PaulY Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:36PM]

@Galley Ditto. Now to convince the IT dept. to let me hook this up...

[keymaker1 Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:01PM]

Why not make this freggin thing available to people living in buildings in NYC and San Francisco where AT&T sucks big time.

[scott5626 Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:04PM]

3G

[scott5626 Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:04PM]

3g.

[dragonfli Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:22PM]

AT&T, it's been TWO FUCKING YEARS since initial trials.

I think you've perfected this damn thing as far as it will go - now give it to the goddamn nation and stop this pussyfooting "public trial" bullshit.

[Mentat Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:44PM]

@dragonfli

Who peed in your Grape Nuts?

[NuShrike Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:26PM]

@Mentat AT&T

[bryanlyle Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:43PM]

Ok. At this pace, I'll see this in my area around 2015. AT&T, I'll be long gone by then.

[jeremycushing Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:44PM]

I have had this for about 6 months in San Diego. I hate the fact I had to pay $$$ for this magic box but since the Iphone is way better than anything else I felt I had no choice.

AT&T engineers said there was no signal coverage in my area. (I told them this a million times) Its not like I live in a rural part of San Diego county either. I am 5 minutes away from downtown and 1 minute away from the airport.

This was the only solution for me and for the most part I am happy with it. The problem is that the VPN tunnel it uses seems to drop often.

Anyways this magic box will work out well for most people! I am not sure what has taken them so long to introduce this nationwide.

They did send out a survey with all sorts of cool features like auto syncing the handheld to home networks & letting you know when your child arrives at home! Wow! Just keep it simple AT&T, let us be able to use our phones.

Jeremy Cushing

[ccantrell Posted Mar 20th 2010 1:17PM]

@jeremycushing

I too live in an area of PHX that has terrible coverage. I've been talking with ATT now for 2 weeks about this and using a MicroCell as a solution for my house. Unfortunately, they will not sell it outside of their test markets right now. The attitude by all customer service reps is they would rather me goto Verizon. I'm amazed they are not pushing this faster to keep the churn lower.

[MeisterDon Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:48PM]

San Francisco Bay Area, HURRY UP!

[absolutejustin Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:56PM]

I agree. Release it to the rest of us already!!! Also, I worked for AT&T and only certain calls are recorded and only for quality assurance purposes not for record. That's what account notes are for.

[deadzones Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:06PM]

AT&T and Verizon had better get their act together quickly because companies like Google, Cox, Comcast, Sprint and T-Mobile are going to eat at their 66% market share very quickly using femtocell products. Look what Vodafone is marketing heavily in the UK and will be coming to all carriers soon in the US.

http://www.deadzones.com/2010/02/mobile-blackspots-map-for-uk.html

[dgood48080 Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:13PM]

Im waiting for it in Chicago!

[Neros Fiddle Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:18PM]

Why can't cell companies use Wi-Fi to route their calls when it is available?

[deadzones Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:24PM]

They were already in trials forSouth Carolina and Georgia, plus San Diego and Las Vegas for many months. This is what I call hype. We will let you know when they expand availability to their 40M customers who need it. Yes 50% of us and 100% of the iphone users.

[rickster Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:26PM]

i wonder why not the SFBA?

our ATT service problems are the stuff of commercials.

[peon2000 Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:47PM]

I have received a flyer for one of these here in Greenville SC

[DVerde Posted Feb 25th 2010 8:40PM]

I've had the MicroCell since October, and while I'm glad to at least be able to make and receive calls at home, the device is not the golden fix I had hoped.

It -requires- a GPS lock to even operate, so, in my house, I have to keep it and its two unsightly ethernet cables hanging in the window. As far as service quality, it drops calls and the voice clarity is not there. And sometimes the 3G conks out for hours for no apparent reason. Even though it is advertised to do so, I've never had it successfully hand-off to the tower, though that may be because of the lousy coverage in my neighborhood (and reason why I have the device).

Ultimately, I'm not satisfied, but at least now I have semi-coverage at home. However, I'm squarely in the camp of "Why can't AT&T do a VOIP app?" It irks me that I had to pay over $100 for the MicroCell… only to then have to go up a speed tier on my broadband ($) to handle the voice traffic… when Skype worked successfully before, without the hardware.

[Rescuer Posted Feb 25th 2010 8:58PM]

the article says "Hit up the link below to punch in your zipcode for exact availability"

what link? i clicked the 3 links in the article and they take me to other engadget articles.....

thanks

[drstone Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:15PM]

This is so awesome I've been waiting for a YEAR for this so I could finally get a signal inside my house I was SO excited to get this email today telling me it was FINALLY available.

Oh, you only added Las Vegas to your test market? Nevermind, I'll go back to not having service at home. Super. Thanks for taking way too long and ALSO getting my hopes up for no reason.

[elnacho Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:39PM]

Oh, so this just happened today? I was looking for my local AT&T store and I saw that one of the features they offered was the Microcell and I wondered when that happened. I know I signed up to be notified when it was available in my area, but I didn't get anything. Maybe that email will be arriving shortly. Either way, after seeing all the less than stellar reviews, I'm probably gonna be passing. Unless I can get one for free. How does that work, for the people that have done it?

[AndyJ Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:19PM]

@elnacho I signed up to be notified when it was available in the Chicago area and got the email today telling me it's available in other cities besides Chicago.. WTF?!?!

[elnacho Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:28PM]

@AndyJ Mystery solved. You totally got my email.

[ajaccardi Posted Feb 26th 2010 8:59AM]

Metro Detroit area, please!