What is a Microcell?

[mjg01]

The liturature that comes with the device says that it is not a signal booster at all. It says that the micro cell goes through the internet....gets its signal.....and then broadcasts that signal through your home. It has nothing at all to do with cell towers. You could live 1000 miles from a cell tower and it would still work because it is using the internet.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

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mjg01 wrote:

The liturature that comes with the device says that it is not a signal booster at all. It says that the micro cell goes through the internet....gets its signal.....and then broadcasts that signal through your home. It has nothing at all to do with cell towers. You could live 1000 miles from a cell tower and it would still work because it is using the internet.

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You are correct, sort of. Signal booster may not be the accurate term but I challenge you to be 1000 miles away from a cell tower and try to get the MicroCell to work.

[Human#7043]

Actually it *will* work even 1000 miles from a tower A microcell is low power tower (femtocell) that uses over the air technology to send\receive to your handset, then VOIP to the carrier's network. (Hence the need for an Internet connection.) Also it allows you to authorize up to 15 (not 10) users, of which 4 may use it concurrently. Range is apx 5000 square feet from the base station and it is 3G only. It DOES need a GPS lock to work so it can properly route 911 calls. However it has a GPS light so you can tell if it has GPS Lock or not. If GPS is an issue you can grab a low cost garmin gps antenna, this tends to solve any gps signal problems.
However all minutes used on a microcell are billed as microcell minutes (your mobile to any mobile won't be used) so watch your minute consumption.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

In theory yes. In reality, no. As far as your minutes go, they are billed as normal whether you use the MicroCell or not, unless you opt to have the unlimited MicroCell plan.

[annertakfiak]

So where to get this Microell from?

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

Call AT&T or go to a corporate store.

[Nene1234667]

Is this a fact. Do I understand this correctly, that even though I pay for Mobile to Mobile on my plan already and if I want to boost my signal by purchasing the Micro Cell ( more cash), that any calls I make will cost me additionally ?

[Nene1234667]

Oh and another concern that I have. I have At&T cell phone plan for my 1phone and recently, I no longer receive a decent signal strength. I used to always get 4 & 5 bars, now usually 2 and most times 1. I know that it is due to the saturation of towers due to the Oil Boom in my area. They are all using their cell phones. I looked into purchasing the Mirco Cell to boost my signal, but on the AT&T site, it says not to use with a satellite internet connection. I believe that is what I have through Karnesec.net and ONLY because AT&T broadband is not available to me in my area. For over 28 years, we have had two different home land lines (business issues) , an 800 # and a fax line and two different cell plans. WOW............ Amazing that we can spend so much and now be able to get good reception any longer.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

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Nene1234667 wrote:

Is this a fact. Do I understand this correctly, that even though I pay for Mobile to Mobile on my plan already and if I want to boost my signal by purchasing the Micro Cell ( more cash), that any calls I make will cost me additionally ?

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The additional fee is not mandatory for the MicorCell. We already had unlimited mobile to mobile on our family plan so it was not necessary to pay additionally when using the MicroCell. Your cell phone charges will be the same whether you are using the MicroCell or a tower. They are both considered cell phone usage and billed according to your plan.

[Otto Pylot ACE - Czar]

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Nene1234667 wrote:

Oh and another concern that I have. I have At&T cell phone plan for my 1phone and recently, I no longer receive a decent signal strength. I used to always get 4 & 5 bars, now usually 2 and most times 1. I know that it is due to the saturation of towers due to the Oil Boom in my area. They are all using their cell phones. I looked into purchasing the Mirco Cell to boost my signal, but on the AT&T site, it says not to use with a satellite internet connection. I believe that is what I have through Karnesec.net and ONLY because AT&T broadband is not available to me in my area. For over 28 years, we have had two different home land lines (business issues) , an 800 # and a fax line and two different cell plans. WOW............ Amazing that we can spend so much and now be able to get good reception any longer.

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For the MicroCell to work it needs a cable/DSL internet connection, not a satellite connection. And the internet connection needs to have at least 2Mbps upload speed.