AT&T is testing technology to improve cell phone signal strength in subscribers' homes, and plans to make it available in a trial market next year.
The country's largest wireless carrier is testing so-called "femtocells" in employees' homes, and is looking at a city-sized test with customers in the second quarter of 2009.
Femtocells are small boxes that beam low-power wireless signals to cell phones and relay them back to the carrier through the subscriber's high-speed Internet connection. They are, in essence, miniature cellular towers for the home.
"We're really excited about this," said John Stankey, Chief Executive of AT&T's Operations Division. "I don't know how you compete in the voice space with someone who has a pristine voice connection in the home through a femtocell."
Competitor Sprint launched femtocells under the Airave brand last year in a few markets, and made them available nationally this summer. Verizon Wireless has said it is looking at femtocells. T-Mobile has chosen a different route, selling some phones that can connect calls over Wi-Fi routers.
AT&T is looking at femtocells that provide full cellular broadband 3G speeds. Sprint's femtocells are currently for voice and low-speed data connections.
That is a great idea and I know some good towns to test that in. Southern New Hampshire has great service in the southeast but as you go north, it lessens more and more. The towns in between would be perfect. Does anyone know how they will determine what town gets to do the tests? We get customers all the time who want to know if they are going to get better service from AT&T in thier area.
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