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Col.TomParker's profile

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3 Messages

Monday, September 2nd, 2013 3:18 AM

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Does Microcell work with Satelite?

I just got a Microcell-useless as a horn on a motorcycle! I have Dish Network Internet! I live in rural Mississippi! Does anyone know of anything that works?

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ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

The MicroCell is designed for land-based internet service only. It will not work reliably (or at all) with satellite internet service and should say so in the product literature. I'm not even sure if Verizon's femtocell will work with a satellite ISP. If satellite is the only way you can get internet, then you're out of luck with the MicroCell. Did you buy this new from AT&T or from a second party?

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Professor

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2.2K Messages

11 years ago

Just to expound further on the use of femtocells on satellite internet connections, while AT&T says that they do not support this with their Mcell, it can be done with other femtocells.  Unfortunately, the universal problem with satellite internet latency would make any femtocell usage just about impossible to tolerate.

 

While dishNet (and others) can provide download and upload speeds that exceed the minimum requirements for a femtocell, the dirty little secret they don't talk about in their advertisements is the latency one experiences while using a satellite internet connection.  This may not be such a big deal when accessing email or web browsing but for any type of two-way usage (i.e. VOIP, gaming, etc.), it is essentially a deal breaker.

 

Consider the fact that the radio signal from a satellite modem to the ISP must travel 44,600 miles (up and back) just to start off with.  That equates to a latency of 238 ms.  Now add to that the additional latency of the rest of the provider's satellite internet infrastructure and then the internet itself.  To top it off, two-way satellite Internet connections must make the same round trip twice if  data is being sent as well as received.

 

The result is a latency that can be as much as 1,150 ms and averages 850 ms.  Trying to carry on a conversation with this kind of delay will result in two people talking over each other, making a simple phone call an exasperating experience.

 

The OP didn't say if he could get any signal at all on his cellphones at his home location, but there are cellphone signal booster/antenna solutions that can work in remote areas.  Wilson Electronics would be the place to start.

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ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

6 years ago

@orr5family - the MicroCell is not designed to work with satellite or broadband internet service if that's what you have. It is designed for land-based internet service only. It can work, but is not reliable and therefore is not officially supported by AT&T or us. That information is mentioned in the docs.

 

The MicroCell is connected via an ethernet cable directly to your modem, router, or gateway. There are specific router requirements that need to be met first and they are given in my Tech Guide (see link in my sig line). Setting up your router and/or equipment is up to you and your ISP. We can not help you with specific setup instructions because there are just too many routers, modems, and gateways out there for us to keep up with firmware versions and new models.

 

Sales of the MicroCell were discontinued at the end of 2017 because the MicroCell has reached its EOL. Support will continue for the time being but the service will eventually be discontinued altogether. What AT&T and us recommend now is WiFi-C (WiFi Calling) if your phone is capable of that and you have a post paid AT&T cellular account (which is also required for the MicroCell). If not, your only other options are to use a cellular booster (see my Cellular Booster Guide, link is also in my sig line), switch carriers, or possibly use Google Voice.

Contributor

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3 Messages

11 years ago

It does say it on all the literature. I purchased it new from AT&T and was told it has a 14 day return policy.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

Some have had limited luck with the MicroCell and a satellite ISP but as soon as the ISP changes/updates protocols, the MicroCell stops working. The answer to that is expanded macrocell (tower) coverage for the more rural areas but that's not going to happen anytime soon.

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3 Messages

9 years ago

We've done testing on the AT&T Microcell with our Exede Internet (satellite) service and have found it works just fine. We had to make a few adjustments but it's working now. The comments about latency being a big issue here are not supported by our findings. Would love to hear from anyone having positive or negative experiences using Exede with the AT&T Microcell.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

9 years ago


@AlexExede wrote:

We've done testing on the AT&T Microcell with our Exede Internet (satellite) service and have found it works just fine. We had to make a few adjustments but it's working now. The comments about latency being a big issue here are not supported by our findings. Would love to hear from anyone having positive or negative experiences using Exede with the AT&T Microcell.


You've responded to a two year old post. The MicorCell has in the past worked for a while with Excede but it is not reliable as the MicroCell was designed for wired connections (cable, DSL). AT&T will not support connection issues with satellite and/or WiFi interenet-based services. If Excede wants to market their services as being compatible with the MicroCell that's fine but keep in mind that all connection issues will be forwarded to your support department for help.

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3 Messages

9 years ago

Did not work with Dish Net(which is horrible on many levels).But the God's smiled on us and we know have AT&T internet and VoIP.

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3 Messages

9 years ago

We're happy to help with connection issues we can resolve on our end.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

9 years ago

That's just a nice way of saying if we can't fix it it must be AT&T's problem. It would be interesting to see how stable, overtime, your jitter and latency are.

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