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Cellular Repeater for GSM and home use?


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Cellular Repeater for GSM and home use?
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-06, 17:35

So I'm in an interesting situation right now where I'm buying a home but have horrible cell coverage there. We both (my wife and I) have 3G phones so it would need to be able to work with all the 3G signals. I've found one that seems like what I'm looking for online but wondered if anyone here has any experience with them or any input? Thanks!

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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addison
Formerly “AWM”
 
Join Date: May 2009
 
2009-07-06, 17:42

Something you might want to look into is a femtocell. I'm assuming you are using AT&T? They are about to release one pretty soon though I'm not sure of the pricing structure. Verizon charges around $200 for one with no monthly charge. Sprint does one for less but there is a $5/mo charge. It basically will tie into your router and provide you with signal throughout your home.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-06, 21:04

We are with AT&T and will likely stay there too. The MicroCell they are planning to launch sounds like a great idea actually. I didn't even think about something like that. My only concern being if I leave AT&T later. Then there is also the down side if AT&T charges for the use of such service.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-07-07, 08:57

This would actually be a godsend for someone like me also. Great thread turtle.

Please post a link when they start selling them and keep me posted. I would gladly pay $200 or even $5/mo for something like that. My service is great everywhere except for my home for whatever reason, but all carriers suck here.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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evan
Formerly CoachKrzyzewski
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Send a message via AIM to evan  
2009-07-07, 09:48

throw me in the same boat haha. ATT sucks at going through walls. My friends with sprint and verizon get PERFECT service throughout my apartment building but if I'm not within 3 feet of my window I get 0 bars.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-07-07, 10:12

Any idea when this will be released? I know Verizons is available for $249, but all the articles I've seen for the at&t one are older, with the most recent one being in January.

I'd buy one right now if I could.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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kieran
@kk@pennytucker.social
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2009-07-07, 10:35

I'd probably pick one up as well.

I don't plan on ever getting a landline, so I'd grab one of these in order to get me the best service possible in my house.

No more Twitter. It's Mastodon now.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-07-07, 10:59

Here is an article I found discussing the femtocell.

Quote:
АТ&Т’s femtocell project we told you about back in January seems to be alive and well. According to the company’s executive director for radio access network delivery, Gordon Mansfield, the 3G MicroCell should launch nationally by the end of the year. The official has made the statement at the Femtocells World Summit event in London. He also said that currently the 3G MicroCell is being tested by about 200 users, but this will soon be expanded to a marketing trial, which will be open for customers through AT&T stores in a limited number of cities.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-07, 11:51

Yeah, that article stems from this one by Engadget. It's at least date the end of June. The down side of AT&T's version is that it won't support 2G. So my original iPhone that I use as a Touch right now won't be able to benefit from this device. No real loss though.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-07-07, 12:01

I would think it would still support talk and text service, just not data. No?
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-07, 12:07

No, it's only going to support the language of 3G from what I've read. I'll see if I can find an article to support this, but they say no support for 2G at all.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-07-07, 12:22

Interesting. I read one earlier that said something alone the lines of supporting 10 standard at&t phones or 4 3G at&t phones at one time.

That brings up another question. Would there be some sort of sign-on method or some way to authenticate who's using the "network"? Sort of like wifi. How would you do that?

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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kieran
@kk@pennytucker.social
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2009-07-07, 12:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
Yeah, that article stems from this one by Engadget. It's at least date the end of June. The down side of AT&T's version is that it won't support 2G. So my original iPhone that I use as a Touch right now won't be able to benefit from this device. No real loss though.
But if you're using it as a Touch then you don't need phone service at all right?

I'm a little confused.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-07, 22:13

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
Interesting. I read one earlier that said something alone the lines of supporting 10 standard at&t phones or 4 3G at&t phones at one time.

That brings up another question. Would there be some sort of sign-on method or some way to authenticate who's using the "network"? Sort of like wifi. How would you do that?
With the MicroCell you would have to authorize users on it. By doing this they keep your neighbors from using your service.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kieran View Post
But if you're using it as a Touch then you don't need phone service at all right?

I'm a little confused.
Well, I certainly can use it as a WiFi device as I do now. But...I have hacked it and run my SIM in it every now and then when I don't want to keep my Fuze on me for simplicity's sake. I wouldn't be able to do this in the house if they do limit you to 3G only. Here's the article I mentioned a few posts up that says it's limited to 3G.
Quote:
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.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
addison
Formerly “AWM”
 
Join Date: May 2009
 
2009-07-08, 12:56

Just remember that you will still be using your minutes with one of these devices. They may offer unlimited but for a additional fee. Also, it will check your location via GPS before operating so you can't throw this thing in your suitcase and head off to Europe and use it to call home. In fact it probably won't work in areas where AT&T has no native coverage. It will probably also have restricted and unrestricted mode so you can decide who uses it. Not sure how it will handle handoffs either. I'm not positive but I think the one Sprint offers only does one way handoffs.

Not a chance of them opening this up for 2G GSM either for a number of reasons. The main one being they want to herd people onto 3G as soon as possible to free up that spectrum.

Last edited by addison : 2009-07-08 at 13:10.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-08, 17:50

Yeah, the idea is that I have cell coverage in my home. At this point this MicroCell is my best option though I'd certainly consider a generic cell repeater still.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
addison
Formerly “AWM”
 
Join Date: May 2009
 
2009-07-11, 08:49

I found a review posted by a beta tester. Looks like they have most of the kinks worked out.

http://mobiquizoid.blogspot.com/2009...g-calling.html
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-07-11, 09:31

That's awesome news. I'm really looking forward to this little device. a flat rate for my personal cell tower is going to be great, if that's the pricing scheme they go with.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-08-09, 00:16

So here I am sitting in my new house with my wife having great reception on her iPhone 3G and my HTC Fuze having little to no signal.

It sure would be nice if AT&T released this mythical device. I'm ready to just order something of a more generic nature at this point.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2010-01-07, 00:08

Anyone hear anything new on the MicroCell?
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2010-01-07, 00:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
Anyone hear anything new on the MicroCell?
Just that AT&T's been disturbingly quiet about it (just like with iPhone tethering). IIRC there was no mention for it at their CES presser.

This is AT&T, we're talking about. They're not exactly the most innovative company out there, sadly.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2010-01-07, 10:10

Man, I'm ready to buy another brand/generic one now. This waiting is getting old. My Touch Pro 2 isn't much better here in the house than my Touch Pro was. My wife's iPhone 3G does pretty good though.



So frustrating.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2010-01-07, 13:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
Anyone hear anything new on the MicroCell?
My coworker has AT&T U-verse and got a MicroCell device at home for free. He said it just plugs into the internet connection and does its thing without any setup. The only problem he said he's seen is that on long calls, after about an hour it starts to break up or something, but hanging up and calling again seems to fix it.

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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2010-01-07, 19:25

That's pretty cool. Why haven't they launched it fro the rest of us yet? It's really just what we need here at my house.
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addison
Formerly “AWM”
 
Join Date: May 2009
 
2010-01-07, 22:19

Have you called them by any chance? Doubtful you'll hear anything useful but you never know. If you can't wait it looks like Magicjack just announced a carrier agnostic femtocell with unlimited calling for $20/yr. Not sure about the details though.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2010-01-07, 22:53

Could you theoretically buy one off ebay and use it?
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2010-01-07, 23:36

I think you could...if there in no service fee since to configure it you'd need to set up the account. I'm not willing to take that chance personally. Maybe someone in Google Land has done it already and posted the results.

Thing about doing the MagicJack is the change in phone number. The idea is that I use my cell phone to send and receive calls. Though the other uses for the MagicJack device are tempting for the other numbers I have.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
  quote
JohnnyTheA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2010-01-08, 15:43

MagicJack http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/us_tec...show_magicjack

Wow! What a cool simple device if it really works. The article quotes the makers as saying "..device is legal because wireless spectrum licenses don't extend into the home". I think they mean its probably legal to use ATT's GSM freqs as long as you don't radiate over a certain power level that would interfere with their network. Its legal because you are using your phone with your own GSM network that has a range of 8 feet. Sounds awesome to me. I wonder what the effects of high density housing would be... Like putting one next to a wall that you share with the neighbor.

I love destructive technologies. If this works well, it means its that much easier to go completely off the normal phone line and use the cell for free in you own house.

This shouldn't be confused with the femtoCell products. Those are much more advanced, don't have the 8 foot limit... and cost more....


JTA
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