The price structure has been announced for the AT&T 3G MicroCell, a line of femtocells, devices designed to help AT&T customers get better reception inside buildings, as well as faster overall speeds.  Described as being “like having a cell phone tower in your home”, the 3G MicroCell is the first such publicly-tested device of its kind.

But the web community’s getting pretty torqued about the fact that you have to shell out monthly cash for this little beauty–about twenty bucks a month for unlimited use and ten if you subscribe to AT&T wireless and home phone.  Include the internet service in that last and you get the MicroCell free of charge.

It’s sort of a low blow, offering a device that’ll let you use the device you pay to use in all situations but then requiring people to pay for it.  For crying out loud, they’re already subscribers–why not just send everyone a free one to keep your base interested?

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AT&T is set to rollout their femtocell technology by the end of this year. They will be expanding the current trial into a marketing trial to a handful of cities in the coming weeks. A full national launch should be in place by the end of 2009.

So what is this femtocell technology? Basically, you plug in a AT&T-branded 3G…

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Generally speaking I turn a blind eye to late night infomercials and products that make guarantees that are just too good to be true.  Magic Jack appeared to be one of those products, but apparently the company has turned itself around since launch and sold over 3 million devices.

If you’re not familiar with Magicjack it’s a small device that lets you place VoIP (like Skype) calls from a regular landline phone through your computer’s broadband connection. It plugs into your computer’s USB port and for $40 includes unlimited calls to the US and CA with no monthly charges or minutes for up to 1 year.   After that it’s just $20 a year.

Now the company has plans to expand and perhaps even take on the big guys, such as AT&T.  Arriving sometime between Q3 of 2009 and Q1 of 2010 the company will introduce a femtocell product that lets you wirelessly reroute your cell phone calls through the MagicJack.  Apparently, the Femtocell MagicJack will be slightly larger than the current device and cost only a few dollars more.  AT&T and others carrier have plans to roll out a femtocell device sometime later this year (Verizon already released theirs), but their devices are said to be retardedly expensive but lack a monthly fee.

You can also expect the company to roll out number porting in the next 60 days, which will enable consumers to port preexisting numbers over to the MagicJack.  They’ve also got plans make the MagicJack Linux compatible by Q3 of this year and possibly roll out a mobile phone application similar to Skype that appeared on the iPhone recently.

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So AT&T has yet to officially take the wraps off their 3G Microcell (aka Femtocell).  As we originally reported, the device will utilize the homes (or office’s) broadband connection to assist 3G devices in making calls or sucking down data.  In the event that the user is amid a call and leaves the designated 5000 foot radius, the AT&T service will seamlessly hand the call over to the network.  Although AT&T’s 3G Microcell is designed to support up to 10 devices, only 4 users can simultaneously utilize the device.  Additionally, the Microcell uses GPS for initial setup.

Sorry, but there is still no word on price, release date or official specs.  If you’re one of the lucky customers who is testing the device please drop a comment or email us some pics.

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According to reports, AT&T is asking some of their customers to test out a home cell base station a.k.a femtocell. This device uses a broadband connection to extend and enhance a cell phone signal. So if you’re the type that lives in the deep, dark depths of a secluded underground bunker where no cell phone signal can possibly reach, this is for you.

At this point, they’re only testing so who knows when or if it’ll be available.

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