Ask a AT&T Rep!

[whmurray]

to see if its available in ur area go here

AT&T 3G MicroCell?


its only avil in select markets...

Like I said, Charlotte. Anyone outside of Charlotte, please report.

 

[whmurray]

Charlotte is only one of the MANY major cities that is getting the MicroCell. Sorry it's not in your area yet. Give it some time and it will be. Have you contacted your local AT&T store to see when it will be available to you?

Please do not patronize me. I am trying to be a customer.

Anyone? Anyone outside of Charlotte? We are all waiting breathlessly.

Is there a reason that something announced months ago, and generally available from other sources, must be dolled out one market at a time? Remember, this is a customer provisioned item that one might not need if one were not trying to do business with the "steaming pile of failure." This is a remedy for poor coverage. Even if one did not mind paying for it, one might still resent that it is available to others but not to oneself.

 

[duhneiz]

Charlotte is the first "public" place for the trial
there were some people that were approved to do it before the public launch this past month... but u had to approved...


but right now.. charlotte is the only market to have it avail to the public

 

[duhneiz]

Most retail stores are allowed to do exception upgrades for iphone users only within 30 days of the upgrade date. So the answer is YES!

a retail store cannot do that..

a COR store can override ur upgrade for u and do an early upgrade.. .but they are going to charge u 75 dollars to do one... no one is suppose to do an early upgrade for the iphone at the full upgrade pricing.. thats why they have the early upgrade pricing for those that arent eligible

 

[duhneiz]

It take 6 months after you quit to be considered eligible for new customer pricing again. If you do it even one day before, you will activate your old account and contract. I would honestly buy a used iPhone 3G for around $250-$300 and avoid the contract. I've been contract free on my personal lines for close to three years.

thats not correct...

u can only activate the same number within the first 59 days...
after 60 days that number is recycled...


odds are.. that when activating a new line on an account.. ur going to get a brand new account anyways...


gosh u love to give inncorrect info ha

 

[Vic_C]

but right now.. charlotte is the only market to have it avail to the public

That is not entirely true....Raleigh/Durham is a good 3 to 3 1/2 hours from Charlotte and it is available to that market.

 

[duhneiz]

opps raleigh was added on the 29th but as of them.. those are it

 

[Vic_C]

I feel fortunate to live in an area that is one of the first to have this! I had Verizon's network extender but it did not play nice with our BB's. When we switched to AT&T we had very poor reception at home as so with Verizon. The MicroCell performs MUCH better than Verizon's!! Could not be happier with it!!

 

[whmurray]

opps raleigh was added on the 29th but as of them.. those are it

There must be some AT&T employees who are offended by these business practices. On the other hand, there must be some who are corrupted by them. I think that I will just go to eBay and find some of the latter. At some price, there must be some supply for those of us who are not "approved."

 

[Vic_C]

$335 on ebay....

 

[whmurray]

$335 on ebay....

lol. I knew there was a price. Rationing is immoral and corrupting. It always creates a black market. Black markets favor the least moral among us and tempt the rest of us. Ethical businesses do not put their employees in such compromising positions.

 

[Rich]

$335 on ebay....

But isn't this pointless right now?

I was under the impression that AT&T was using the MicroCell's GPS to determine your location, and if the unit was not located in one of the two currently approved areas, you wouldn't be able to activate it.

 

[Vic_C]

I believe that is true. Also when you purchase it you have to give them your address and phone # to verify that service is active in your area. Also during set-up of the device you have to enter address for activation and then register it with the s/n that was also scanned when purchased. So even if you bought one on the "Black Market" I think it would not work. I could be wrong though......

 

[whmurray]

But isn't this pointless right now?

I was under the impression that AT&T was using the MicroCell's GPS to determine your location, and if the unit was not located in one of the two currently approved areas, you wouldn't be able to activate it.

True that it has a gps but for E911, not to bind the device to a location.

 

[whmurray]

I believe that is true. Also when you purchase it you have to give them your address and phone # to verify that service is active in your area. Also during set-up of the device you have to enter address for activation and then register it with the s/n that was also scanned when purchased. So even if you bought one on the "Black Market" I think it would not work. I could be wrong though......

From the micro-cell to the AT&T server is over the Internet. It is location agnostic. One registers the device, to associate it with an account, any AT&T wireless account, over the Internet

Where is this paranoia coming from? This is only AT&T, not NSA. I know that they cooperate but there are limits even for them.

 

[Rich]

True that it has a gps but for E911, not to bind the device to a location.

It's already been reported (and supposedly confirmed by AT&T) that the GPS is used to determine your location so the device cannot be used in an area not covered by AT&T; i.e. Europe. Are these reports false?

 

[whmurray]

It's already been reported (and supposedly confirmed by AT&T) that the GPS is used to determine your location so the device cannot be used in an area not covered by AT&T; i.e. Europe. Are these reports false?

I believe that they are false. I think that people are projecting malicious motives onto the "steaming pile of failure." While I am not a fan of AT&T business practices and think that favoring one market over another is pernicious, I am willing to assume that they are only stupid, not mean.

Admittedly, AT&T brings these suspicions on themselves. A company that secretly colludes with the government against their customers, might do almost anything.

However, we are on the "ask AT&T rep" thread. How say you AT&T?

In any case, there is a huge difference between binding a device to the US and binding it to Charlotte or a location within Charlotte.

 

[whmurray]

It's already been reported (and supposedly confirmed by AT&T) that the GPS is used to determine your location so the device cannot be used in an area not covered by AT&T; i.e. Europe. Are these reports false?

The following are from the User Manual http://www.wireless.att.com/support...documents/1252584282478.UserManual_090409.pdf


Begin long quote --------------------

* E911 Service
The AT&T 3G MicroCell? supports E911 (wireless 9-1-1 service) unless the device loses electrical power or Internet access. In the event of a service disruption, you won?t be able to use E911 service with your wireless device unless you have access to the AT&T wireless network. It may take several minutes after power resumes for your device to be fully functional. If you move your MicroCell to a new address, it will be necessary to follow the original installation instructions and register the new address online at
att.com/3GMicrocell to enable E911 service to function properly.

Important E911 Note: The location address you provide in your online
activation will be sent to local emergency responders, and must be kept up to date if you move your device. To update your location address information, visit att.com/3GMicroCell and select ?Manage your 3G MicroCell.?

2.4 I want to give or sell my 3G MicroCell to someone else, is that OK?
Yes, but be sure to disconnect the 3G MicroCell from your account. Otherwise the new owner of the 3G MicroCell will not be able to activate it using his or her account. Visit att.com/3GMicroCell, go to ?Manage your AT&T 3G MicroCell? and follow the online steps for ?Disconnect Your 3G MicroCell Device? from your account.

Note: The new 3G MicroCell owner must contact AT&T Customer Support at 1.888.334.3787 and enter PIN 88346 before installing the device. The support representative will explain E911 functionality to ensure that this important feature is understood.

End of three quotes from User Manual--------------

These quotes are from the User Manual. They are all that I could find on the topic. A fair reading suggests that the exclusive use of GPS is for E-911. I found nothing to suggest that the use of the micro-cell was in any way bound to a location or that it was not portable to any point in the Internet. Nothing to suggest that its use was restricted either to a market or to the US.

[It is obviously restricted to AT&T. Only phones with AT&T SIMs will even see the device. Only phones that have been associated with the device, using the registration procedure will be able to use it. This is because all use of the cell, metered minutes or unmetered unlimited, is going to be charged to the wireless account (not phone) with which it is associated.]

However, I am sure that the conspiracy theorists here will find a way to read things into it which is appears careful not to say.


I am not an AT&T representative nor do I intend to so represent myself on this thread. My only credential for this post is that I can read documents that are available to all.

 

[Rich]

Are these reports false?

I believe that they are.

From AT&T's 3G MicroCell site:

Additional Information:

• Installing your device near a window is strongly recommended to ensure access to Global Positioning System (GPS). A GPS link is needed to verify the device location during the initial startup.
• The 3G MicroCell device is portable. The device may be moved, provided the new location is within the AT&T authorized service area and properly registered online.

In any case, there is a huge difference between binding a device to the US and binding it to Charlotte or a location within Charlotte.

Not really. The information from their site states that the device can only be used within the AT&T authorized service area. There are likely areas within our own borders where AT&T is not authorized to operate, and those areas would need to be blocked. If they can block a country or other area within our borders, why wouldn't they be able to block every location except the two currently approved locations? Seems like it would be a matter of simple programming.

 

[whmurray]

From AT&T's 3G MicroCell site:





Not really. The information from their site states that the device can only be used within the AT&T authorized service area. There are likely areas within our own borders where AT&T is not authorized to operate, and those areas would need to be blocked. If they can block a country or other area within our borders, why wouldn't they be able to block every location except the two currently approved locations? Seems like it would be a matter of simple programming.

You are really starting to scare me.