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AT&T's 3G MicroCell still on track for release sometime before the end of the year
We've known the tech behind AT&T's spin on the home-based femtocell repeater since January, and in February a little iPhone update revealed that we were getting closer to prime time. Finally, news of limited trials and then... silence. AT&T has apparently been keeping its head down, diligently testing its MicroCell service, with 200 lucky subscribers having Cisco boxes beam full bars to the darkest corners of their living rooms for months, testing that has been successful enough for AT&T's Gordon Mansfield to say that it's still "on track for a full national launch." That's the good news. The bad news is that he continued by saying it'll release sometime "by the end of 2009." So, you might be in for up to six more months of dangling your iPhone out the window to get your voicemail, but hold tough -- you can make it.
AT&T 3G MicroCell trials starting this week, retail in June or later?
Word on the street is that AT&T kicked off a trial of its 3G MicroCell HSPA-enabled femtocell this week, with units being delivered to signal-deprived homes on Tuesday. We've been hearing about the thing for long enough now that we would've liked to see a release, like, now -- but given that these trials are apparently expected to run through June 9, we guess we wouldn't expect to see it at retail until then, assuming everything goes well. In the meantime, participants are getting 200 bones on top of the unit itself, so color us jealous. Follow the break for AT&T's full email to testers. [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
iPhone Carrier Update hints at AT&T MicroCell coming soon
iPhone users in the US have recently been hit with a "carrier update" when they sync with their machines, and a little digging reveals that the package contains two "AT&T M-Cell" carrier logos -- suggesting that Ma Bell's upcoming MicroCell femtocell is close to launch. Still no word on how much the Cisco-sourced hardware will cost when it does arrive and we're still not super-stoked on the idea of paying a monthly fee to improve AT&T's own service, but if you've been patiently waiting to take matters into your own hands, we'd guess you'll be rewarded soon. [Via TUAW]
Details on AT&T's 3G MicroCell: everything but the date and price
T-Mobile has HotSpot @Home, Sprint has AIRAVE, and Verizon has its Wireless Network Extender, leaving just AT&T among the States' big four carriers without a launched WiFi or femtocell solution for extending signals into the home -- but it looks like that's finally getting close to changing. We know that they've been in the process of trialing some units recently, and tipsters have observed that there's now a pretty slick site launched on AT&T's domain for its 3G MicroCell, an indication that they might be looking to go retail eventually. There's quite a bit of detail here; from the picture, we can make out that the unit comes from Cisco (versus Samsung for Sprint and Verizon), and like its competitors, the MicroCell will require a broadband connection to operate. It'll cover up to 5,000 square feet, allow up to four simultaneous voice or data connections (locked down so that your neighbors can't pilfer the signal), and most interestingly, will only work with 3G phones. We've heard that femtocells are more difficult to manage in a 2G GSM environment than in CDMA and WCDMA -- hence the 3G requirement -- but the cells offered by Sprint and Samsung only offer 2G coverage, so AT&T's arguably got an advantage here. We still don't know exactly when this is coming or for how much dough, but the site makes mention of a "3G MicroCell service plan," so we'd count on a fee for the pleasure of extending AT&T's network on their behalf. Follow the break for AT&T's full rundown of the device.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
