From talk@flux.org  Tue Aug 19 17:47:08 2008
From: talk@flux.org (talk@flux.org)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:47:08 +0000
Subject: [Talk] Sprint Airave femtocell
Message-ID: <79897315-1219167913-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-2045250645-@bxe013.bisx.prod.on.blackberry>

I live in the sticks, and have no better than marginal coverage from any cell company. My best coverage was through AT&T's GSM system. I had a T-Mobile phone and they allowed me to roam to AT&T.

So, recently, when T-Mobile told me that they didn't want me as a customer because I roamed too much, I was irritated. I had cell coverage at home through their wi-fi offering, theoretically. In actual fact, hotspot@home sucked. The phone would try to roam to the AT&T tower and always fail. The wi-fi would lock out after a few hours. There was no way to tell the phone to prefer wi-fi so if it had two bars of wi-fi and three bars of tower signal, it would roam and then disconnect.

It was fun to carry a phone that could be used as a hotspot detector.

So I began looking for a deal. Sprint offers a good deal with their simply everything plan - they include data, navigation, and even Blackberry fees in the base cost. 

But from Sprint, I got one bar in my yard and nothing inside. I was considering a repeater when someone pointed out that Sprint was testing a device they called the Airave, a Samsung "femtocell".

It was easy to install. One wire to the router, and a GPS antenna on the window sill. It has four lights and they all need to be blue for it to work. The two you care about are GPS and the one that indicates that it has a data connection.

The instructions tell you that you might have to wait an hour for it to get a GPS fix. It took 20 minutes and a couple of repositioning attempts before the GPS light began to blink and only a couple more mins more before it got a fix. Unlike many GPSs, however, subsequent fixes took just as long, so a momentary power outage gives you a 20 minute service outage. 

The phone needs no setup - it just works. I was checking the manual when I started getting texts. You can tell when you are using the femtocell- you can hear a special beep when you make or get a call or dial *99 to verify coverage.

You can leave the device open - anyone can use it - or you can install a list of up to 50 phone numbers that may use it. Only three people can use it simultaneously, and it uses your internet bandwidth when they talk on it.

While the older low speed data connection works, Sprint's high speed data connection scheme, EVDO, is not supported, so your Kindle won't connect via Airave. You can browse, or use google maps or the other things you want to do from your cell, and you can listen to sprint audio. Sprint's TV will work but the pics tear a bit.

If you place a call using your Airave, and walk away from it, it will switch to a regular Sprint tower given adequate signal. The reverse will not work.

Sprint is selling the Airave for $99, and it must be activated at time of purchase. There is no contract. There is a $5 monthly fee. Additionally, you can pay $10 for a single line or $20 for a family for unlimited calling for calls made from the Airave.

The device will not work unless it is in the US. It checks the GPS to insure that it is in a licensed area. The position of the cell is reported to E911 if you make an emergency call using the device.

I have heard a rumor that Virgin cells won't work if they are in an area where the strongest available signal is via an airave.

So, I have a 9" cell tower in my living room, and 3-4 bars in my bedroom. And my cell works reliably in my house... So far.

-- 
How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?