So AT&T has this new “microcell” product out, and I think it’s pretty poorly understood. I say that because there’s no way rational people would accept AT&T’s pricing if they understood how it works and what it does.
The pitch is simple: If you put one of these $149 devices in your home, you’ll have better cell service there. This part is true, but the next part is nefarious: AT&T wants to charge you, one way or another, for the calls that are routed over this device.
If you have no idea how they work, this probably seems reasonable, but let Uncle Heathen explain something to you: The AT&T Microcell is an example of the femtocell class of devices. They work by being, basically, a short-range cellular-to-Internet bridge. The device, about the size of a wifi router, works as a short range cell tower that covers (basically) your home, and which only works for certain phones. It then routes the calls placed by those (in-range) phones not over the cell network, but instead over your broadband connection and thence to the AT&T mothership for completion.
That’s a pretty neat trick, obviously, but leave it to AT&T to turn a technology boon into a way to rape their customers one more time. Calls routed via femtocell never touch the AT&T wireless network, and yet AT&T wants to either count those minutes against your allotment, or charge you a monthly fee ($20) for “unlimited” Microcell minutes.
That’s astonishingly brazen, and completely full of shit. An iPhone on another carrier simply cannot get here quickly enough. I know they’re all sociopathic greedheads, but I’m tired of giving this particular pile of jackasses my money.
This is why I’m getting a Droid. They work just fine, they’re on Verizon, which is a much better network than AT&T and seemingly at least a little bit more customer-friendly, and I just don’t see why I should give AT&T money as a reward for the way they do business. Just because they have the iPhone does not undo everything else about them.
True enough, but I’m addicted to the ease of use and sync I’m getting with the iPhone. I’m also not upgrading yet, so it’s kind of moot.
Verizon was infamous for YEARS for screwing their customers, so it’s not like I’d expect to be treated any differently by them, or by Sprint, or by T-Mobile. All wireless carriers treat their customers with contempt. Frankly, all TELCOS treat their customers with contempt. That’s one reason I use Vonage at home.
They don’t “just work” in Asia and Europe, not on verizon, which is why I dumped them. Apple interface is the best, always has been, always will be.