femtocells

(smcgee)

What Should Sprint Customer With No Service Do? Ask For An Airave Femtocell

A femtocell sounds like it should be the name of the battery that powers a Fembot, but it is not. To grossly oversimplify, it’s a type of tiny cell phone tower that harnesses your broadband Internet connection and serves only your house. Our readers tell us that it might be reader Jay’s last hope to be able to talk on the phone in his own home. [More]

(dooley)

We Switched To Verizon For Better Coverage, Just Got Dropped Calls And Terribleness

Jonathan and his roommate both ditched AT&T at the same time in favor of Verizon. They’ve experienced years of spotty coverage and dropped calls nearly everywhere they went, and wanted Verizon’s famed ubiquitous rock-solid coverage. They brought home their new iPhones and discovered that instead of vastly superior coverage, they had incredibly craptastic coverage and even more dropped calls. Verizon representatives told them that was weird… their area is supposed to have great coverage. When Jonathan tried to wrangle a free femtocell out of Verizon for their trouble, Verizon wouldn’t budge. His roommate fled back to the less terrible coverage of AT&T, but Jonathan hasn’t made that leap. [More]

AT&T Rep: Our Service Is So Terrible In Houston Because It's So Popular

AT&T Rep: Our Service Is So Terrible In Houston Because It's So Popular

Reader Chris is an AT&T Wireless customer with an iPhone, and has noticed a marked decline in the quality of his phone calls at both work and home. That’s not unusual, especially for customers who live in large cities like he does. His real complaint is about AT&T’s attitude toward their declining service. A customer service representative told him that this is just what happens when a service becomes more popular, and he should try buying a 3G Microcell to see whether that improves his service. Chris doesn’t agree that he should pay more for his mobile phone service because it’s becoming worse. [More]

Close Reading Of Press Release Shows Why Everyone Hates AT&T Wireless

Close Reading Of Press Release Shows Why Everyone Hates AT&T Wireless

The 3G Microcell, the mini cell tower that AT&T has been threatening their customer base with since last fall are coming soon. AT&T Wireless customers remain underwhelmed. Why? Using technology similar to Consumerist’s own Megglefish, Tested’s Will Smith translated the press release from PR-speak to English for us, and teased out the precise reasons why this is a terrible, terrible idea. It’s all there. You just have to find it. [More]