It’s definitely one of the first things we thought of trying with AT&T’s 3G MicroCell back in 2009, but our dreams were quickly dashed after finding that said device was hard-wired to only operate when receiving a GPS lock within the United States of America. Thankfully, it looks as if at least a few engineers at Ubiquisys are riding our same train of thought, and come Mobile World Congress, it’ll be debuting the device of our dreams. The Attocell is described as a personal femtocell for use with 3G smartphones, and best of all, it’s designed for use internationally. In essence, this would allow a smartphone from one country to use their international web connection to tunnel a cell call through — presumably free of charge — and definitely bypassing those nasty roaming fees that are incurred when ringing through an overseas cellular network. The company admits that it has been tested with the iPhone, BlackBerry handsets, a few Nokia phones and a gaggle of Android handsets, and we’re guessing that Windows Phone 7 and webOS users won’t have any issues, either.
The idea is fairly simple: connect the Attocell to your laptop via USB, which provides power and an internet connection. From there, it’ll analyze the IP address and radio environment to determine which country it is in, and sets its 3G radio power accordingly to below the licensed level. In some countries its range will be just five millimeters, in other countries, it could cover a whole room. For those in the former, you’ll need to place your phone atop the dongle and use a Bluetooth headset to make a call, but hey, it’s still better than paying AT&T two arms and the vast majority of a leg just to phone home from wherever you may be. Crazier still, Ubiquisys thinks that the device’s low power output — coupled with its ability to “continuously monitor its radio environment to ensure that there is zero impact on existing mobile networks” — will make the Attocell exempt from regulatory controls and the requirement for type approval. Here’s hoping it flies through just as the company hopes, and we’ll be hitting the floor in Barcelona to pry out a price point, release date any carrier deals they’ve managed to land.
I think that at this point most of us are familiar with a femtocell and what it is and when you need one. Basically, the femtocell is a way to give you a better mobile phone signal indoors and to allow you to route phone calls over your broadband connection rather than the mobile network.
Ubiquisys has announced a new femtocell that is the world’s fist attocell. The device is designed for people that travel abroad and want to be able to make and receive calls just as they would at home. The device was developed specifically for the iPhone, but will work with any 3G mobile phone including Blackberry, Nokia and Android devices.
The device connects to a laptop via USB for power and a web connection. It will then gather IP information about the country it is in and sets the 3G radio inside to the allowed level. That means the coverage area will vary from a scant 5mm in some areas to a whole room in others. The phone is laid n top of the attocell if 5mm is all the coverage allowed and calls are made with a Bluetooth headset. The device will be shown off at MWC.
We’ve known that AT&T has been test-marketing free 3G MicroCells to subscribers with particularly awful reception in certain parts of the country since the product launched last year, but as of January 23rd, they’re codifying the offer and taking it nationwide. Bottom line: the “top 7.5 percent of 3G wireless customers identified as likely to experience poor in-building coverage at home or in small offices” will be receiving some snail mail with a discount code; bring it into an AT&T store and you’ll be offered a gratis MicroCell. There’s a catch, though — you need to agree to a one-year contract on the unit (separate from your normal account contract), so if you cancel service within that year, you need to either return the MicroCell or get charged $199.99 minus $16.67 per month that you’ve had it. Of course, that lines up with the newly-increased MicroCell price that the carrier is instituting starting this Sunday. Considering that AT&T needs to acknowledge that you’re in a terrible reception area to get it, we can’t say we’d hope to be one of the “lucky” 7.5 percent — but it’s a nice benefit nonetheless.
Here’s one way to fix the spectrum crunch: set up wireless base stations and WiFi hotspots in every single one of the 9,000 buildings currently owned and operated by the US General Services Administration. That idea, along with the proposal that such installations be made mandatory in all future federal structures, was put before the US Senate this Friday. It’s argued that installing femtocells at those locations would improve reception indoors, lighten network loads in busy areas, and expand accessibility for more rural locales. Ubiquitous WiFi routers, on the other hand, hardly require any justification beyond “common sense,” but you should be aware that the Federal Wi-Net bill also asks for a $15 million budget for the performance of retrofitting and future installs. Full PR after the break.
Samsung had signaled Big Red’s intention to replace its old, non-3G Network Extender as early as CES in January this year — something Sprint did a couple months back — but only now are they getting official with the updated model. The aptly-named 3G Network Extender is a warmed-over version of the original, boosting simultaneous connection capability from four to six (Sammy’s specs at CES had it listed for eight, interestingly) and offering EV-DO coverage in the event that your home, office, or other location of interest isn’t blanketed with Verizon spectrum. The company claims it’ll work for up to 40 feet surrounding the device, which seems reasonable considering your average home is rife with RF-hating barriers. There are no monthly fees for the device, but you’ll be shelling out $249.99 upfront; it’s available now. Follow the break for Verizon’s press release.
FierceWireless got the lowdown on the new Airvana-built Airave femtocell that Sprint is shipping, and it turns out there’s a good reason why stores we called hadn’t heard of it: the carrier’s only shipping it to people who pass the test. What test, you ask? Well, Sprint is saying that “each customer situation is reviewed independently to determine whether the customer would qualify and benefit from Airave use,” and if you qualify, you get the EV-DO-capable Airave gratis — with the catch that you’ll be charged a non-return fee if you walk away from Sprint and don’t send it back. From our perspective, we don’t see a good reason why these wouldn’t end up replacing the 1xRTT-only Samsungs that stores are still stocking, but at this point, it’s Sprint’s call when or if that’s going to happen.
Update: We’ve been tipped with information that the Airaves are being provided to customers without a spending limit who are considered “mid” value or better; they’re being offered via direct ship only and won’t be offered in stores.
Corporate-owned Sprint stores that we’ve called don’t seem to know what we’re talking about, but at least one reader has managed to get Sprint telesales to ship him one of its long-rumored upgraded Airaves from Airvana that supports EV-DO (the original model sported 1xRTT only for data). Our tipster tells us this bad boy will run up to six simultaneous calls — up from the old Samsung’s three — and although the femtocell supports a VoIP landline connection, Sprint is telling folks that it’s not available for use just yet. The jury’s still out on whether this looks better than the outgoing model — but hey, you can always shove it in a corner where no one will notice it; in the short term, the bigger concern will probably be finding a store willing and able to sell it to you.
Wondering about the fate of the MagicJack femtocell now that its promised second quarter launch window has passed? So was Computerworld, and what it found out isn’t exactly promising for the as-seen-on-TV company. According to a MagicJack spokesperson, it’s taken longer than expected to finish the software and patents associated with the product, which means it still hasn’t even been able to submit the device to the FCC for approval. The company says the software should be done within two weeks, however, but that still means a wait time of several more months while the FCC does its thing. Of course, that’s to say nothing of the many legal problems facing the device, which MagicJack is unsurprisingly not commenting on — although it insists the device will be available “this year.”
We have talked about the MagicJack VoiP dongle on more than a few occasions around here. The company has merged with VoIP company VocalTec Communications and the newly merged companies are set to offer an interesting new product soon.
MagicJack will launch its femtocell product this year that will work with any mobile phone. We have heard about this femtocell before. What we didn’t know was that rather than selling the femtocell product alone, the device would be marketed with a wireless carrier.
Exactly which wireless carrier will be used is unknown, but odds are it won’t be AT&T or Verizon but one of the smaller carriers and my money is on a pre-paid carrier. MagicJack apps for the iPad, Android, and Blackberry devices are still in the works and a new softphone service will land in the next month or so from MagicJack to compete with Skype and the offering will be global.
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.
It’s definitely one of the first things we thought of trying with AT&T’s 3G MicroCell back in 2009, but our dreams were quickly dashed after finding that said device was hard-wired to only operate when receiving a GPS lock within the United States of America. Thankfully, it looks as if at least a few engineers at Ubiquisys are riding our same train of thought, and come Mobile World Congress, it’ll be debuting the device of our dreams. The Attocell is described as a personal femtocell for use with 3G smartphones, and best of all, it’s designed for use internationally. In essence, this would allow a smartphone from one country to use their international web connection to tunnel a cell call through — presumably free of charge — and definitely bypassing those nasty roaming fees that are incurred when ringing through an overseas cellular network. The company admits that it has been tested with the iPhone, BlackBerry handsets, a few Nokia phones and a gaggle of Android handsets, and we’re guessing that Windows Phone 7 and webOS users won’t have any issues, either. 
