Romney2012Defeat Obama 2012-Chg we can believe inPremium
join:2002-03-03
USA
kudos:4
2 edits | AT&T making big deal about 3G - unlike Verizon/Sprint equip AT&T is making a big deal out of the fact that their femtocell will support 3G data access. Why is beyond me. Their 3G femtocell must still access the internet thru a router(99% of the time a wireless router). The iPhone and many other smartphones now all support WiFi access. If you can access the internet on your smartphone using WiFi it would be slower to access it thru the 3G femtocell.
I guess some feature phones that access the internet, but don't have WiFi capabilities, will be helped. But that is a small number of AT&T users that would bother getting an AT&T femtocell.
P.S.>> they aren't rolling this out early to NYC and SF which need this capability more than other areas.
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decifal
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Verizon Broadban..
| femtocells.. Hey sounds wonderful! If you live outta range of good cell reception just plug one of these into your "broadband" connection and you'll have full signal!..... Oh wait.... You live in a rural area.. NM, your still screwed  |
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| reply to Romney2012
said by Romney2012:AT&T is making a big deal out of the fact that their femtocell will support 3G data access. Why is beyond me. Their 3G femtocell must still access the internet thru a router(99% of the time a wireless router). The iPhone and many other smartphones now all support WiFi access. If you can access the internet on your smartphone using WiFi it would be slower to access it thru the 3G femtocell. I guess some feature phones that access the internet, but don't have WiFi capabilities, will be helped. But that is a small number of AT&T users that would bother getting an AT&T femtocell. P.S.>> they aren't rolling this out early to NYC and SF which need this capability more than other areas. I think they're pushing the 3G capability of their femtocell product because the femtocells from the other US carriers only support 2G services. As little as it means to smartphone users, AT&T will have the only 3G femtocell solution in the US. |
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| reply to Romney2012
... and they'll count the megabytes consumed over your home cable modem towards the 5gig cap! |
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 r81984Fair and BalancedPremium
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T DSL Service
·row44
| said by stufried:... and they'll count the megabytes consumed over your home cable modem towards the 5gig cap! I do not see how they can do that when you are not using their network.
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Democrats are not Socialists any more than Republicans are. |
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 morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | reply to PaulieORF
said by PaulieORF  I think they're pushing the 3G capability of their femtocell product because the femtocells from the other US carriers only support 2G services. As little as it means to smartphone users, AT&T will have the only 3G femtocell solution in the US.
[/BQUOTE :Isn't T-Mobile's @ home service similar to a femtocell? |
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approval from:
Romney2012
| reply to r81984
Actually you are in this scenario since all your internet data are processed through at&t's cell network through the femto. This is why Golf n Sun correctly questioned the value of it being 3G and not simply a GSM/GPRS signal. |
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1 edit | reply to morbo
said by morbo:said by PaulieORF I think they're pushing the 3G capability of their femtocell product because the femtocells from the other US carriers only support 2G services. As little as it means to smartphone users, AT&T will have the only 3G femtocell solution in the US.
[/BQUOTE :Isn't T-Mobile's @ home service similar to a femtocell? No, T-Mobile @Home is simply a VOIP service for dial tone phones, similar to Vonage in a way. I think T-Mobile does have a few standard flip phones that have Wifi built in and can make calls over it. Their @Home service contains zero cellular technology. EDIT: I'm basing this completely on reviews and not first hand, and I think I might be slightly incorrect here. I'm fact checking right now. |
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 en102Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | reply to del ftl
You can still use WiFi for data at home (probably faster anyways). |
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morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | reply to PaulieORF
My mistake: I meant T-Mobile HOTSPOT @ HOME and not T-Mobile @ Home. Confusing. Hotspot @ Home is different from their home service offering. Both are $10/month but Hotspot allows your wifi phone to send and receive unlimited calls while connected to your home (or remote) hotspot. |
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 MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12
1 edit | reply to Romney2012
I don't think a 3G phone can make calls via EDGE if it's in 3G mode, so the femtocell supporting 3G is critical. If the price is right, I'll absolutely get one of these, as the signal quality in my house is abysmal. The minute I step outside, full bars, but in my house I frequently get "no service" for hours. |
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jimkPremium
join:2006-04-15
Raleigh, NC Reviews:
 ·voip.ms
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| said by Matt:I don't think a 3G phone can make calls via EDGE if it's in 3G mode, so the femtocell supporting 3G is critical. If the price is right, I'll absolutely get one of these, as the signal quality in my house is abysmal. The minute I step outside, full bars, but in my house I frequently get "no service" for hours. That may be true (I'm not 100% sure), but AT&T's femtocell must support 3G since running femtocells in a GSM (TDMA air interface) environment would be nearly impossible. HSDPA/UMTS uses a cdma air interface, which these devices are much more compatible with.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless only need to support 1X for voice, since EVDO is data only. |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to morbo
If your phone is UMA compatible (some, though not all, T-Mo phones are) you can do this...and it works on ANY WiFi hotspot, which is pretty cool.
Also means that you can get away with a $50 wireless router rather than a $150 femtocell. Though OTOH most phones won't work with the tech. |
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| reply to jimk
My 3g Blackberry Bold goes to EDGE only when there isn't a 3g signal around. If I lived where there was no 3g signal, my phone would be fine. If there was a weak 3g signal and a perfect EDGE signal, I''d be stuck with the 3g signal. ATT blocked users of the Bold the ability to force their phones to EDGE. (There is a backdoor to hack it in, but it is certainly not ATT sanctioned). |
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NeosumPremium
join:2000-06-03
Oakland, CA | reply to iansltx
said by iansltx:If your phone is UMA compatible (some, though not all, T-Mo phones are) you can do this...and it works on ANY WiFi hotspot, which is pretty cool. Also means that you can get away with a $50 wireless router rather than a $150 femtocell. Though OTOH most phones won't work with the tech. The problem with that is incoming calls. 3g reception inside my building sucks (although edge works perfectly fine). The point of this femtocell is to provide full 3g signal bars for both incoming and outgoing calls (no more missed calls at home). You can make a phone call through voip, but you can't receive calls if there's no 3g/2g reception. Femtocell is their solution.
I usually just disable 3g at home and wont' have any reception issues, but it'd be nice to be able to stay on 3g. I'd definitely like to get my hands on one. |
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