While we've no clue how widespread AT&T's generosity is, or how you might get one, it appears that the company's "most valuable customers" are now receiving free range-boosting
femtocells. Today, loyal reader Jason got a old-fashioned paper letter in the mail, offering his iPhone-wielding family a
3G MicroCell with no strings attached. Driving down to the local AT&T store, he got the product, but the dumbfounded reps offered no explanation why. Though his calls do frequently drop at home, Jason says he wasn't terribly vocal about the issue and only pays around $180 per month for his family plan -- the only thing that might possibly qualify him, in his opinion, is that his contract was set to expire. We've reached out to AT&T for more information; in the meanwhile, see Jason's letter after the break.
[Thanks, Jason]
Update: We're being told that AT&T is currently in the process of trialling different ways of offering the MicroCell, which is why a handful of customers have received this letter. We suspect you're
always going to get positive reactions when you're offering something for free... but maybe we're crazy.
posted July 10th 2010 8:56PM
So after a 1-hour runaround between three different AT&T departments, I have... No extra information to contribute.
Retentions said they'd heard of the offer, but have no idea what qualifies someone for it. Suggested I call a store. The store said "quite a few people in my area have been getting the letters," but had no idea what qualified someone for it. Suggested I call customer care. Customer care had no idea the promo existed. The supervisor there said the best they could do is put on my account that I "should get a refund if I do end up getting a letter in the future and I end up paying for it out of pocket today."
So, I pay $250 / month and call twice a month to complain about the blatant hole in their network. I've installed signal location utilities. I've identified which towers are dropping my calls, kept logs of my calls, etc. And I don't qualify, but random people who have never had a dropped call do.
Sounds like an AT&T market trial at its finest.
I just got mine. I got the same letter in the mail. I went to my local AT&T store and walked out 5 minutes later with a free MicroCell. I live near Lynnwood, WA.
So i am a Home Solutions Consultant with AT&T and we are being advised that customers who have a high revenue account and there contracts are about to expire will recieve these devices free. to be honest we cant keep them in stock at the store I work in so not sure what kind of market research they r doing but my bet is that they r looking to see how consumers are using these devices for futer devces.
$500/month probably equals Uverse customer.