Finally, AT&T is deploying a femtocell nationwide. The AT&T marketing folks call it a MicroCell. But it’s a femtocell.
The nationwide rollout begins in mid-April and should be complete within a few months. So for those like me who have lousy AT&T coverage at home but a good broadband connection, I can now pay for the privilege of having a good AT&T voice and data connection. For how much and other details, read on.
I rely on WiFi both at home and work. I don’t always want to be tethered to a desktop. At home I may want to “sofa surf”, cruising the Internet while watching cultural events on TV like extreme cage fighting. At work, I don’t sofa surf (or at least admit it), but may want to access the Internet while in another office or conference room.
The problem I have is, due to the layout of my home and my work, and perhaps the construction materials, the WiFi signal is weak to non-existent in many locations. The solution would be a wireless bridge or repeater. I found a gadget that does that, and more!
I purchased the Verizon Wireless Network Extender almost one year ago (1/25/09). This device is a femtocell. A femtocell is a small cellular base station which connects to your cell phone service provider’s network via your home’s broadband connection and broadcasts a strong signal through your home. Since the femtocell connects via the Internet rather than over the airwaves, the weakness of your over the air signal doesn’t matter. Important to someone like me who lives in the hills with a weak cell phone signal but a good (T1) broadband connection.
The shortfall in VZW’s network extender is data is only at 1x speed; no travelling down the EVDO data fast lane. But there’s hope. Engadget Mobile reports on Samsung’s forthcoming femtocell, which offers 1X and EV-DO service simultaneously. It also supports 8 concurrent connections – an increase from the current 4. Coming Q2. Unknown whether VZW will offer an upgrade path from its current network extender.
In the meantime, where’s AT&T’s promised femtocell? Or T-Mobile now that it’s ending its @Home service.
This quarter (it is January 1) the HTC HD2, with its 4.3” capacitive screen, will be supporting US 3GSM frequencies! And much sooner, indeed only 4 days from now, Google likely will be announcing the Nexus One, with a 3.7” AMOLED and capacitive screen.
So you’d think I’d be steadying my hand shaking in anticipation of moving my seldom-used AT&T voice/data SIM to one of these bad boys? Uh … no.
Both of these super phones will be supporting T-Mobile’s 3GSM frequencies, not AT&T’s. You can still use these phones on AT&T’s network. But for data, you’ll be limited to EDGE; no 3GSM. Sort of like getting a Ferrari, but you can only drive it to the local supermarket. Why buy an expensive super phone when it only will limp along the information super highway?
US 3GSM love going to T-Mobile and not AT&T isn’t new. The most recent example is the Nokia N900.
I’ve carped about this before: HTC HD2 – Which US 3G Bands? Enough carping. What to do?
One option is to rejoin T-Mobile. I moved because their voice coverage sucked. However, that was some years ago. Maybe things have changed? T-Mobile’s voice/data coverage map indicates good coverage both where I live and where I work. Though I’ve learned to take carrier coverage maps with the proverbial grain of salt.
Another option is to buy unlocked a variant heading to another carrier in the Americas, perhaps South America, that happens to have the same 3GSM frequencies as AT&T. This may be a long shot for the HD2 … perhaps even more so for the Nexus One.
I think I will check with T-Mobile users where I live and work and see how they like their voice and data coverage.
We’ve discussed MiFi several time before. Slightly larger than a credit card, MiFi creates a WiFi hotspot. However, traditional WiFi hotspots usually are connected to an existing, wired Internet connection. The MiFi isn’t. Instead, it connects over the air to a cellular provider (Verizon in my case).
A 3G USB (or ExpressCard) modem also can connect over the air to your cellular provider. But unlike the 3G USB modem, you can share your MiFi connection with up to 4 other users. I haven’t had occasion to use this sharing feature yet. But it may come in handy when my wife and I take our next vacation. Sharing may also be handy in other scenarios (e.g., on the road with co-workers).
Windows 7 was expected to support “Virtual WiFi”, which would enable similar sharing of the WiFi card in your laptop. But it didn’t. Not out of the box anyway. However, Windows 7 apparently does support Virtual WiFi – if you know how to write code to access the Windows 7 API.
An outfit called Connectify apparently knows how. It’s written a program, which it offers as a public beta, that enables sharing your Wifi connection (or apparently any internet connection for that matter).
To use the program, your WiFi card needs to be compatible. If yours currently isn’t on the list, maybe it soon will be. Of course, you still need to be willing to share.
[via unwired]
Archos 5 makes a capable client computer shows that you can use this Android OS 5” device to remotely access Windows OS computers. This article gave me the idea of using my Viliv x70 (or S5) to remotely access servers for which I’m responsible.
On the Viliv devices, I can use Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) native to the Windows OS since each has a Windows OS (7 and XP respectively). The Archos 5, having a non-Windows (Android) OS, uses other software. But the result is the same.
What’s neat (to a geek like me anyway) is that I can carry around a small device which, when I’m at the Pleasure Palace working outside of the office, I can use to remotely troubleshoot and solve server problems. No trouble getting a connection. If WiFi isn’t available, the X70 has built-in 3G (as does the S5). Or I can use my own WiFi, my Verizon MiFi. In geek-speak, woot!
AT&T 3G MicroCell Femtocell (Updated) told you only 1 week ago that, after seeming eons, AT&T has finally deployed its femtocell, which it calls a 3G MicroCell. I don’t care if AT&T calls it a power toaster; I want it now! But alas, AT&T first is deploying it on a trial basis in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC.
AT&T 3G MicroCell unboxing and impressions is the first in-depth report I’ve seen. Based on this initial report, it’s a winner.
Us poor slobs who don’t live in NC and endure AT&T’s network still have to wait. But maybe not for long. Reports (including from the rep today at the local AT&T store FWIW) are that the 3G MicroCell will be deployed more widely by the end of this year. Bring it on!
About 3 months ago AT&T Femtocell bemoaned that AT&T, alone among the US carriers, still didn’t offer a femtocell, a small cellular base station which connects to your cell phone service provider’s network via your home’s broadband connection (thus bypassing a weak over the air signal) and broadcasts a strong signal through your home.
AT&T now has a 3G MicroCell site. So presumably its femtocell will at long last be released? Well …
More MiFi told you about model 2352 for European GSM networks. But no MiFi love then for North American GSM networks. The only North American model was the one I have, 2200 for Verizon and Sprint’s CDMA networks.
MiFi 2372 with AT&T and Rogers-friendly HSPA gets official that the model 2372 is coming to North America for GSM networks! The 2372 is very similar to the 2352, except for support of the 850MHz 3GSM band.
No word yet of when AT&T will be offering the 2372. Presumably soon. And as More MiFi told you, the 2372 has more features than the 2200. Yet, I suspect I’ll stay with the 2200. For me, Verizon is a more reliable network than AT&T. Warner Crocker at GottaBeMobile agrees: “Of course this just means that AT&T’s network will continue to crumble around its ears once they make these available.”
[Press release and picture source here]
We’ve talked a lot here about the femtocell. It’s a small cellular base station which connects to your cell phone service provider’s network via your home’s broadband connection. Through it, you have a strong signal via the broadband connection, rather than having to rely on a weak over the air signal.
However, femtocells, including my Verizon Wireless Network Extender, don’t support 3G. So when you use your cellphone for data rather than voice, you’re traveling in the slow lane (2G).
This may change soon. Slashgear reports that Sprint’s second generation femtocell will support 3G and will be available before the end of this year.
But what about owners of first generation femtocells (like me) who also want to travel the 3G data fast lane?
