bobjohnson Premium Member join:2007-02-03 Spartanburg, SC 1 edit |
$100$100 would be a great price.. Sprint just tried to sell me a signal repeater for $349.. I think femtocells are a good idea if you use your phone at home alot like I do.. | |
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| NY Tel Premium Member join:2004-04-09 Smithtown, NY |
NY Tel
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 9:41 am
Re: $100Yup this will benefit consumers and allow them to further "cut the cord" and ditch their landlines. Take the 50 bucks a month you pay for unlimited dialtone and out it towards an unlimited cell plan for $99.00 if the situation is right for someone. Not for everyone, but it is a good alternative option. | |
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| en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
to bobjohnson
A signal repeater will work where ever you need the signal 'repeated'. A femtocell requires an internet connection. | |
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| KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2 Zoom 5341J
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to bobjohnson
I thought Femotocells reroute your at home calls via your internet connection (VOIP) and so don't burn your minutes.
If AT&T wants you to pay for the minutes AND pay for the hardware, well, that's just a rip-off. That's making you pay for what you should already get. | |
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| | djrobx Premium Member join:2000-05-31 Reno, NV
1 recommendation |
djrobx
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 2:18 pm
Re: $100It's not a rip off if you just want your cell phone to work reliably in your house. I'd happily pay $100 for such a device. I barely use up my minutes anyway. | |
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| | | KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2 Zoom 5341J
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KrK
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 2:26 pm
Re: $100Yes, that's a rip off. If you have cell service, and it doesn't work in your home, and it's going to use your minutes, they should *give you* a repeater to make the service work.
Now, if this femtocell is like T-Mobiles and will save you minutes, well, I can see offering them for sale to those who want them. | |
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| | | | bobjohnson Premium Member join:2007-02-03 Spartanburg, SC |
Re: $100said by KrK:Yes, that's a rip off. If you have cell service, and it doesn't work in your home, and it's going to use your minutes, they should *give you* a repeater to make the service work. Now, if this femtocell is like T-Mobiles and will save you minutes, well, I can see offering them for sale to those who want them. T-Mo hotspot service is not femtocell it's just your phone using wi-fi with voip... femtocell is like a miniature cell tower using your internet connection as a backhaul line so you can use it with any GSM phone. | |
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| | | | | KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2 Zoom 5341J
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KrK
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 2:50 pm
Re: $100said by bobjohnson:T-Mo hotspot service is not femtocell it's just your phone using wi-fi with voip... femtocell is like a miniature cell tower using your internet connection as a backhaul line so you can use it with any GSM phone. That's why I said "like T-mobiles." It's not quite the same tech, but it's the exactly the same idea. IE reliable Cell service in your home, going out on your broadband. I like this idea, provided AT&T doesn't still try and charge you for minutes. If the calls go out on your own internet, then there should be no minute charges to your plan. Now, if they DO use your minutes, then they shouldn't charge you anything for the hardware. It should be free. | |
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| | | | | | bobjohnson Premium Member join:2007-02-03 Spartanburg, SC |
Re: $100said by KrK:said by bobjohnson:T-Mo hotspot service is not femtocell it's just your phone using wi-fi with voip... femtocell is like a miniature cell tower using your internet connection as a backhaul line so you can use it with any GSM phone. That's why I said "like T-mobiles." It's not quite the same tech, but it's the exactly the same idea. IE reliable Cell service in your home, going out on your broadband. I like this idea, provided AT&T doesn't still try and charge you for minutes. If the calls go out on your own internet, then there should be no minute charges to your plan. Now, if they DO use your minutes, then they shouldn't charge you anything for the hardware. It should be free. Oh, ok I got ya... They will just charge you for an unlimited plan for the minutes at home like everyone else has so far i'm sure | |
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| | | | djrobx Premium Member join:2000-05-31 Reno, NV |
djrobx to KrK
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 3:14 pm
to KrK
quote: If you have cell service, and it doesn't work in your home, and it's going to use your minutes, they should *give you* a repeater to make the service work.
That would be nice, but IMHO, that's an unrealistic expectation. No cell company guarantees coverage. Plus, I really can't fault AT&T too much for my poor reception - they built a tower about 3,000 feet away. The terrain is simply not good for any sort of radio reception here. I've considered buying a repeater, but the ones I've seen are way more than $100, and I'd want something I know is going to work with 3G. A simpler, cheaper device that I can plug into my broadband connection sounds like a great idea to me. I have no need for cheaper/extra minutes. I don't spend that much time on my phone. I just want it to work for those few times I do need it. | |
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| | | | | en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
en102
Member
2008-Apr-25 6:07 pm
Re: $100Are you on Seco Canyon ? There are plans to build a couple of sites on Seco in 2009 | |
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| | | FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
to djrobx
said by djrobx:It's not a rip off if you just want your cell phone to work reliably in your house. I'd happily pay $100 for such a device. I barely use up my minutes anyway. If Verizon offered a femtocell service, I'd seriously look at it and then dump my land line altogether. | |
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| | | | NY Tel Premium Member join:2004-04-09 Smithtown, NY 1 edit
1 recommendation |
NY Tel
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 5:08 pm
Re: $100said by FFH5:said by djrobx:It's not a rip off if you just want your cell phone to work reliably in your house. I'd happily pay $100 for such a device. I barely use up my minutes anyway. If Verizon offered a femtocell service, I'd seriously look at it and then dump my land line altogether. They are going to offer it later this year. Details are here: Verizon Wireless: Femtocells in 2008 By admin Created Apr 7 2008 - 6:59am Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone said at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show last week that the carrier would begin offering femtocell products and service plans sometime this year. The announcement follows a move by Sprint into the femtocell arena. AT&T also is said to be evaluating a femtocell offering. What remains to be seen is what Verizon will charge for the femtocell device and the service plan. Sprint charges around $50 for the product and $15 per month for service. Verizon's commitment, broader than Sprint's thus far and the only one by a U.S. telco that has both local wireline and wireless networks, may well bring femtocell deployment to its tipping point in the U.S. market. | |
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spe19963 join:2001-01-10 Chagrin Falls, OH |
Missing the pointSo maybe I am missing the point, once I spend $100 on the Femtocell for my home am I still charged by AT&T for the minutes I use when I talk or the data used while connected thru the Femtocell? If so what the point if I get acceptable reception in my home | |
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| sirwoogieBlah Premium Member join:2002-01-02 Saline, MI 1 edit |
Re: Missing the pointTypically, the carrier would offer a plan where for a small fee (in addition to the cost of the unit) you would get unlimited minutes if you are attached to the femtocell.
For example, Sprint charges $15/mo on individual account for this type of service. In my opinion, it should be $5 or less. But that would cannibalize their profits. | |
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| | en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
en102
Member
2008-Apr-25 11:37 am
Re: Missing the pointIt would truly allow you to ditch your landline, if that were the case. I don't think AT&T 'really' wants to cannibalize their VoIP and POTS service (yet) for a $5 add on to cell service. I know that I would ditch VoIP and/or POTS for $5/month to have unlimited on my cell. | |
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| bobjohnson Premium Member join:2007-02-03 Spartanburg, SC |
to spe19963
said by spe19963:So maybe I am missing the point, once I spend $100 on the Femtocell for my home am I still charged by AT&T for the minutes I use when I talk or the data used while connected thru the Femtocell? If so what the point if I get acceptable reception in my home I know t-mo has a $9.99 add-on for their UMA service but i'm sure att will rape their customers as usual | |
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| Cabal Premium Member join:2007-01-21 |
to spe19963
said by spe19963:So maybe I am missing the point, once I spend $100 on the Femtocell for my home am I still charged by AT&T for the minutes I use when I talk or the data used while connected thru the Femtocell? If so what the point if I get acceptable reception in my home If you get 5 bars of reception in your home, you aren't gaining much. If you get 0 bars of reception in your home and a usable number of bars outside your home, there's a very big point to it. I can't speak on potential cost discounts, as they haven't been determined yet. | |
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| | emptywigHuh? What? Premium Member join:2002-08-05 Pasadena, TX |
emptywig
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 11:29 am
Re: Missing the pointIf that's the case, though, why wouldn't I just put a repeater in my attic for a one-time cost?
There is no way I would pay an additional monthly fee for this.
wig | |
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| | | djrobx Premium Member join:2000-05-31 Reno, NV |
djrobx
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 3:20 pm
Re: Missing the pointThat's why I'm hoping we can just pay the one-time $100 for the femto device and use it simply as a repeater. I am NOT interested in paying extra monthly fees, even if the calls through it are unlimited, although that would be great if they also offered that as an option. (In other words, I see the appeal, it's just not for me).
Repeaters are generally more than $100, and going up in the attic to mount one is a lot more complicated than plugging a device into my ethernet. I would think going via my broadband would be more reliable too. | |
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| mikes60My Paradise Premium Member join:2001-07-31 Boynton Beach, FL |
to spe19963
said by spe19963:So maybe I am missing the point, once I spend $100 on the Femtocell for my home am I still charged by AT&T for the minutes I use when I talk or the data used while connected thru the Femtocell? If so what the point if I get acceptable reception in my home There is no point in getting a Femtocell if you you don't have reception problems. I can't imagine that they would not charge the time and data used on the Femtocell against your plan. They would be making a $100.00 one time sale against all the income from your cell plan. Plus, they would probably lose even more land lines to cell phone users who would now get good enough reception to drop the land line. | |
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| | Old_GrouchDon't just sit there silly DO something Premium Member join:2004-05-26 Greenwood, IN |
Re: Missing the pointsaid by mikes60:They would be making a $100.00 one time sale against all the income from your cell plan. Plus, they would probably lose even more land lines to cell phone users who would now get good enough reception to drop the land line. Hmmm, and every customer who drops their land line in favor of cell has moved from State and Federal to Federal-only regulatory oversight. Naaa, at&t would never want that to happen. Lose a major PITA regulatory problem? Naaa. | |
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RKBA join:2001-12-30 La Crescenta, CA 1 edit |
RKBA
Member
2008-Apr-25 9:57 am
Signal Lag?Nevermind. I deleted my original post because I didn't realize this topic has nothing to do with Internet telephony - Duh. I would love to purchase a "Femocell" myself if the $100 purchase price is the only cost and there is no additional monthly charge for the unit itself. I'm up against the foothills here in Southern California and the coverage is really spotty, and particularly poot in the back yard which is up against a mountain. | |
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This is a joke right?So let me get this str8... I pay ATT $100 dollars to make thier job easier and cheaper? LOL!!! U cant b serious!!! They sould b giving me this 4 free...Or at least as a free option when I renew my account. They r crazy 2 think I would pay them. Sounds to me this deal is all in ATT favor. Leave it 2 ATT 2 try to get u in the front and the rear when ever possible. | |
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T-Mobile @home seems betterIt would just seem easier to go with phones that support wifi capability much like T-Mobile... | |
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atuarreHere come the drums Premium Member join:2004-02-14 EC/SETX SWLA |
atuarre
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 10:25 am
Hmmm...And are these femtocells restricted to certain cell phones, or can anyone use them? The only problem I could see with them is abuse, by people other than the owner of the device.
Can someone provide a more detailed bit of information about how they work, or are they just comparable to a wi-fi hotspot, except it is for mobile phones?
What prevents other users from using your femtocell to make phone calls, possibly opening you up to litigation for illegal activities which may be done using your broadband connection and the criminals mobile phone? | |
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| 93388818 (banned)It's cool, I'm takin it back join:2000-03-14 Dallas, TX |
93388818 (banned)
Member
2008-Apr-25 10:31 am
Re: Hmmm...Unless you configure the femtocell to recognize (and allow access) only certain handsets, then you raise a valid point. | |
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to atuarre
On sprint's you specified up to 5 ESN's you wanted to allow access it and only those could | |
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| | atuarreHere come the drums Premium Member join:2004-02-14 EC/SETX SWLA |
atuarre
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 11:27 am
Re: Hmmm...GSM does not use ESN's however...so I would like to know how they would implement this. | |
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ZaberWhen all are gone, there shall be none join:2000-06-08 Cleveland, OH |
Zaber
Member
2008-Apr-25 10:59 am
UMAWhy is AT&T making a big deal out of this, they could just use UMA. | |
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Mr Matt
Member
2008-Apr-25 10:59 am
Alacarte Pricing is Sooo Wonderful I guess the wireless service providers always have their hands out for more money. When I moved to a new home Sprint Wireless's signal was to weak to be usable. Sprint's solution cost more, required me to sign a new contract and purchase handsets with new models that could be locked on Digital Roaming only, to roam on a nearby Verizon tower. I was also required to pay a $5.00 roaming charge per handset since my grandfathered plan did not include roaming. I suggested to the retention department that Sprint should do all of the above at no charge. They refused. I was forced to cancel my more lower cost Sprint service and sign up with Verizon. If a customer requires a Femtocell in order to get a satisfactory signal in their home, The Femtocell should be provided at no cost to the customer. Unlimited in home usage of the wireless service should be at no cost, to compensate the customer for use of their broadband service. | |
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| Sandman37 Premium Member join:2002-07-10 Strafford, MO |
Sandman37
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 12:24 pm
Re: Alacarte Pricing is Sooo Wonderfulsaid by Mr Matt:If a customer requires a Femtocell in order to get a satisfactory signal in their home, The Femtocell should be provided at no cost to the customer. Unlimited in home usage of the wireless service should be at no cost, to compensate the customer for use of their broadband service. While I agree with you, the carriers don't and their customers are the ones paying the price. Either by actually using and paying for a Femtocell or crappy signal in the home. My brother lives by Luke AFB and his signal gets really bad when he gets near his house. I'm sure this is due to a combination of a tower not being close enough and interference from the base. Since the signal isn't great out there to begin with, he can't use a repeater. The Femtocell will allow him to use his cell phone in the house without the dropped and missed calls that he's dealing with now. | |
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atuarreHere come the drums Premium Member join:2004-02-14 EC/SETX SWLA |
atuarre
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 11:06 am
REI think the idea AT&T has, overall is if enough users purchase these devices, especially in areas laden with FIOS fiber connections, that they would be able to improve their network coverage, with absolutely no cost to them. You pay for the broadband connection the femtocell is connected to, and you also purchased the femtocell, as well as are paying a mrc (monthly recurring charge) for the use of the device. In my eyes, the whole deal is in AT&T's favor.
As I stated earlier, unless the devices can be configured to restrict access to the owners mobile phone, and the phones of other people living in the househole, I have a serious issue with this. | |
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Ben Premium Member join:2007-06-17 Fort Worth, TX |
Ben
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 11:58 am
Femtocells and POTSI wonder, is there a way to tie a femtocell into a POTS line? You know, using the POTS line as a trunk?
For one, I plan to keep my POTS indefinitely. Nothing else affordable measures up to the reliability that's provided. Line power is a good thing too.
However, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't be interested in gaining additional mileage out of the POTS line.
If the femtocell is just VOIP, is there a way to tie it into an Asterisk server, or even some other VOIP provider?
Of course, I'm sure that there's no technical reason why this can't be done.... | |
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Re: Femtocells and POTS During the year 2003 Cingular offered a service to Bellsouth Subscribers. The subscriber purchased a special charger holder. When the subscriber plugged their TDMA Handset into the holder, calls to the handset automatically forwarded to their land line. The subscriber was not charged wireless usage when calls were forwarded to the land line. I believe that there was a monthly charge for the feature. The holder was specific to the subscribers handset model. If the subscriber changed handsets they had to purchase a different holder. In 2006 I purchased a home in an area where Sprint owned the local telephone company. Sprint offered a service where I could forward my Sprint Wireless phone to my land line at no wireless usage charge. There may have been a monthly charge for the service. Unfortunately when Sprint spun off their land line business as Embarq, that option was withdrawn. | |
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| | Old_GrouchDon't just sit there silly DO something Premium Member join:2004-05-26 Greenwood, IN |
Re: Femtocells and POTSCingular's (or whatever name) offering was called FastForward. One of the best ideas I've come across and continuing proof that they can find a way to screw up most anything.
The Charger was able to "read" any one of three (I think) numbers programmed in your address book as FF1, FF2 or FF3 rather than a "name". There is/was a switch on the charger that could be set to...duh...1 or 2 or 3.
I have used it since it came out. Still do...and have three additional charger units in case my original breaks. | |
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jjoshua Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Scotch Plains, NJ |
jjoshua
Premium Member
2008-Apr-25 12:20 pm
E911?How does E911 work with a Femtocell?
Is anyone going to make a big stink over this like VOIP? | |
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