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 …

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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?

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VZW Femtocell in the house! told you back in January 2009 about my purchase of the Verizon Wireless Network Extender, 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 (thus bypassing a weak over the air signal) and broadcasts a strong signal through your home.

However, a femtocell is specific to a carrier. Therefore, I still had to wait for one by AT&T, the carrier for most of my family’s phones. And I’ve been waiting ever since. Well, now there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

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We’ve talked recently about MiFi, which is a WiFi hotspot + a modem that connects to the Verizon network (or Sprint for its MiFi). However, both Verizon and Sprint are CDMA networks. If you’re instead on a GSM network like AT&T or T-Mobile, no MiFi love. Well, still no love. But maybe there’s hope, from both Novatel and Huawei. Novatel makes the MiFi Model 2200 used by Verizon and Sprint. Huawei is a Chinese telcom not well known in the US (yet anyway) but with a major presence in Asia.

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Since it’s Father’s Day (here in the US anyway), it’s only fitting to talk about yet another story that illustrates the Generation Gap. MobilitySite reports in Girl Crowned US Texting Champ, End of World is Nigh on the L.G. National Texting Championship held in NY last week. Indeed, the interview with the winner, Kate Moore of Iowa, was in texting-speech:

CNN: Do u ever get in trubl in skwl 4 txting 2 much?

Moore: haah just once or 2ce, teachers hv seen it and taken it away…lol that sux when that happens tho.

My comment: OMG.

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You should know by now that I can’t resist interesting new gadgets. The latest temptation was the Verizon MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot. This sleek, sexy gadget looked my way and gave me a “come hither” look. I couldn’t resist. It’s not my fault.

I know. I need to get out more often. So I did. I went to my Verizon store last Sunday and bought the just-released MiFi.

The MiFi connects you to the Internet via the Verizon network. There are two different connection scenarios.

The first connection scenario is traditional tethering; you connect the MiFi to your laptop via a USB (to MicroUSB) cable. I often need 3G connectivity for my laptop outside my home or office where plugging in to a wired network is not an option and WiFi is unavailable or flakey.  However, this tethering scenario isn’t much different than connecting a USB EVDO modem like the Novatel USB760 reviewed here. Indeed, it’s not as good. The MiFi has the dimensions of a thick credit card. That’s small, but still larger than a USB modem. Further, the MiFi needs a cable, whereas the USB modem just plugs into your USB port.

It’s the second connection scenario that sets the MiFi apart from USB and ExpressCard modems. The MiFi also is a WiFi hotspot! It shows up on your laptop like any other WiFi hotspot. You just connect to it as you do any other WiFi hotspot (there is a security key which you can change).

This WiFi capability is a game changer.

First, it enables Internet connectivity, where a WiFi connection is not available, for a number of smaller devices (MIDs, iPod Touch, Nokia tablets) which have WiFi capability but not an operating system such as Windows for which drivers exist for the USB modem. Now, with my upcoming MID purchase (the subject of an upcoming post), I don’t need embedded 3G.

Second, up to 5 different computers can connect to the MiFi at any one time! This will be ideal for vacations with “his and her” computers. There are other EVDO routers, such as the Cradlepoint CTR350, PHS300 and MBR1000. But none have an embedded modem like the MiFi; you still need to connect the CradlePoint to the Internet.

The MiFi, like most good things in life, isn’t free. The street price is $149.99 with a $50 rebate. Then you need a plan. $59.99 per month gives you an allowance of 5GB. The overage is a relatively modest $.05 per MB. That isn’t cheap. But no worse than the data plan you would have for dedicated embedded 3G in a laptop. And unlike dedicated embedded 3G, you can move the MiFi from device to device. The same is true with USB and ExpressCard modems. But using the MiFi in WiFi mode eliminates having a modem sticking out the side of your device. Even more important, a USB or ExpressCard modem only can connect one device at a time. The MiFi can be used to connect up to 5 devices at a time!

The MiFi is very portable. Indeed, it is truly pocketable. It also has decent battery power (supposedly about 4 hours).

The MiFi isn’t perfect. This review makes several valid criticisms. No cellular antenna to improve a weak EVDO signal (it happens). No WiFi antenna if you want to move around a room without having to carry the MiFi around with you. Verizon, unlike Sprint which has a similar MiFi, chose to disable the GPS functionality (boo hiss).

The MiFi definitely is in my gadget bag, if not pocket. Indeed, when in my pocket, I’m a mobile WiFi hot spot!

Femtocell told you about this technology, which may be the salvation for cell phone users like me who live in an area (the hills in my case) with a weak cell phone signal but a good broadband connection. The 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.

Since a femtocell is specific to a carrier, I was waiting for one by either AT&T, the carrier for most of my family’s phones, or Verizon, the carrier for my Blackberry Storm 9530. As for AT&T, still waiting, though probably soon given AT&T’s 3G MicroCell web page. Still, no availability date yet. See Details on AT&T’s 3G MicroCell: everything but the date and price for more … details.

By contrast, earlier this month Verizon (aka VZW) announced the imminent release on Sunday, January 25 of its femtocell, called the Verizon Wireless Network Extender. So guess where I was early Sunday morning on the 25th? Duh … waiting in front of my local VZW store for it to open, of course!

I purchased this bad boy. Its list price is $250. However, the VZW salesperson told me I get a $50 discount because of my Storm’s phone and data plan (i.e., given how much I’m already paying). I think VZW calls this internally the “mercy discount.” While even $200 is pricey, at least there is no monthly charge; the $200 (or $250) is all you pay for the femtocell. However, you still pay for cell phone minutes the same whether you are connected to the VZW via the femtocell or the “old-fashioned” over the airwaves way.

I took the network extender home. Setting it up is a no-brainer. The only issue is exactly where to place it. I live in a rather elongated two story house. The network connections (and my office and bedroom) are downstairs.  The setup instructions suggest you place the unit next to a window so it can best acquire the necessary GPS signal. However, this would place the unit at the edge of the house, and in a location whether the device could get hot. I chose a location toward the mid line of the house, and near the ceiling, on top of a book case. This is about 6 feet away from a window, but with a clean line of sight, so the unit still was able to acquire a GPS signal.

My verdict — preliminary since only a few hours have passed — is that the network extender does help on voice calls. Since the number of bars is not that scientific. I use the dBm measurement. Roughly speaking, there is an about 10-15 dBm improvement. For example, in my office downstairs at an end of the house, before the signal was 100-100 dBm, after in the 90s. While this isn’t a huge number difference, it makes the difference in being able to make and receive calls. Upstairs, where the signal always was stronger than in my office, before the signal was in the 90s, now in the 80s. While even the 90s is good enough to make and receive calls, the lower the dBm, often the less the drain on the battery.

The signal also seems to remain stronger vertically than horizontally. Perhaps that’s because of the differences in construction materials between the walls though which the signal must travel horizontally and the 1st story ceiling/2nd story floor through which the signal travels vertically.

As the FAQ confirms, the femtocell doesn’t support 3G, so your browsing won’t be any faster. The femtocell really is for voice calls. And for your voice calls, not your neighbor’s. Using VZW’s online account management, you can restrict access to specified phone numbers.

The blogosphere is replete with articles condemning VZW for charging for equipment which enables VZW to avoid having to upgrade its cellular network by removing voice traffic off that network and routing it instead over the user’s broadband connection. See Is Verizon Wireless Network Extender a Ripoff?, Verizon’s Femtocell Is Pretty Lame and jkOnTheRun’s take. I sympathize, though this criticism may not be correct in all cases, such as if the problem is inside your house due to its construction materials. But also on a practical level, at least in my part of the hills, none of the carriers have a strong signal. So what do I do? I need a working cell phone at home. I called VZW support, just as I did AT&T before, but whatever tower tweaking they did didn’t help much. I certainly don’t have the financial pull to influence cell phone providers with a threat to take my business elsewhere. The femtocell seems the best alternative.

Given my home’s configuration, size and construction materials, one device may not be sufficient for the entire house. However, Can I use more than one Network Extender in the same home? warns: “Placing multiple Network Extenders in a single home is not advised. Interference can occur when devices are placed within close proximity of each other.” Besides, that’s another $200

I’m going to play with the location of my femtocell, including moving it upstairs after wiring a network connection there. The reason is not because the signal would be better going down(stairs) that up(stairs). AFAIK, gravity has no discernable effect. Rather, upstairs is more open, less walls, so the signal should radiate farther. We’ll see …