Contributor
•
2 Messages
Follow up Post on Microcell
Have had the microcell for almost 3 weeks now and I must say I am impressed. All of the handsets which are Note 3s and HTC ones have full solid bars and I have yet to experience any dropped calls. The microcell is used in a SOHO setting with a shared Business Class internet connection so I do not know if that improves the quality as I was informed by our internet tech support, business class service prioritizes data packets. The only downside is the number of handsets which can actively be using the microcell at once is 4. I do not know why this number is so low as all traffic is going through the internet and not the towers. Hopefully ATT will increase this with a firmware upgrade sometime in the future. Overall extremely happy ATT took care of me. Customer service has been top notch everytime I have called in or chatted with them online. I will surely grow both my personal and business wireless needs.
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
10 years ago
Nice to have a positive post about the MicroCell. Most who post here have issues which skews the impression because people who have no issues and are happy are less likely to post. If issues do occur in the future, we're here.
0
0
Avedis53
Professor
•
2.2K Messages
10 years ago
It's my impression that the Mcell was developed more for residential usage instead of a SOHO network, hence the 4 simultaneous calls limit. Is this a firmware limitation or a hardware limitation? I suspect it's a hardware limitation so I doubt we'll see any type of firmware upgrade that would increase the number of simultaneous calls allowed.
There are certainly SOHO VOIP solutions that will handle many additional simultaneous calls but they are not femtocell-based. I know Verizon's Samsung Network Extender will handle up to 6 simultaneous calls with a 7th channel reserved for E911 calls. Sprint's Airave Range Extender will handle only 3 simultaneous calls. T-Mobile's approach is different. They use WiFi instead of a femtocell to provide a "mini cell tower" in your home. Their solution requires that you have a phone that is "WiFi Calling" capable. That eliminates many older smartphones but includes all the latest ones that T-Mobile offers.
0
0