AT&T Finally Does Something Right

A few days ago I received a letter from AT&T Wireless.  It looked like just another piece of junk mail.  I knew it wasn't a bill because I've used paperless billing for over a year, so it sat on the kitchen counter with the rest of the bulk mail.  Yesterday, I decided the pile had gotten big enough so I started going through it.  I went through my usual routine of open; confirm junk status then circular file.  When I opened the one from my beloved wireless provider I was pleased to learn they'd chosen me for a free MicroCell because of my status as a real sucker...ahem...“preferred customer”.  Months ago I tried to buy one of these devices to boost my terrible cell signal inside my home.  At that time, AT&T didn't offer the service in my area so I checked the obligatory “inform me when MicroCell service is available” checkbox, expecting to never hear from them (after two years, I'm still waiting on FIOS also).  I don't know if that checkbox had anything to do with them selecting me, but I really couldn't care less.  It probably has more to do with me forking over more than $200 every month for my family plan.  AT&T probably wants to keep us idiots “loyal customers” happy.

This morning I took the letter to my local AT&T Wireless store and five minutes later, walked out with my FREE MicroCell.  The dizzy bimbo courteous sales associate at the store couldn't tell me why I was selected but did say the devices were selling like nickel beer at $150 a throw and I was getting the last one they had in stock.  My luck is rarely that good.

Back at the ranch, setting up the oddly shaped device was a snap.  AT&T provides a friendly web site for registering the MicroCell's serial number and in a couple of minutes I was ready to plug in and hook up.  On the site, I logged in with my wireless credentials and it automatically listed the three wireless numbers in my family plan that would be allowed to connect to my MicroCell.  I added the numbers of my daughter and a couple of friends not on my plan and AT&T didn't seem to object.  The only stipulation I could find: only AT&T wireless customers allowed.  Makes sense.

Hooking up was a snap.  I plugged one end of the provided Cat5 patch cable into the MicroCell's ethernet port and the other into my office switch, hooked up the power and lights started blinking just like the “Getting Started” manual said they would.  The manual also said the device could take as much as 90 minutes to configure itself, but after about 10, I was up and running.  Now I have five bars of signal strength all throughout my three-story home and the signal is still good (3 or 4) at my next-door neighbors'.  I've only been up and running for a few hours, but the call quality is excellent and none have dropped so far.

My cable company provides a fairly good broadband connection, (6 Mb down, 700 Kb up) and my house is wired with Cat5e with two wireless access points.  I turned off wi-fi on my iPhone 4 and ran a few speed tests through the MicroCell.  Several test results with three different iPhone apps yielded a consistent 1.5 – 2 Mb down, but the upstream was a pathetic 50-70 Kb.  Latency was also a bit high at around 200 – 300 ms., but with my good wi-fi coverage, data through the MicroCell is a bit redundant.  I was just curious.

What I wanted from AT&T was a good cell signal for making calls and sending text messages.   As far as I can tell, the MicroCell delivers.