AT&T 3G MicroCell: A Comprehensive Exploration
by Brian Klug on April 1, 2010 1:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- AT&T
- Microcell Review
- Mobile
Performance - Data With Multiple Devices
In location 1, I used two iPhone 3GSes to show how easily that HSDPA 3.6 Mbps can get saturated:
Look at Download - This is location 1 right next to the microcell
If you add up the downstream speeds, you can see how close we are to that real-world 2.2 Mbps effective limit of 3.6 Mbps HSDPA. That's the performance limitation, not so much the internet connection. Both phones went on to reflect the capped 60 Kbps of upstream that's strictly enforced. Two devices is fair enough, but this is AnandTech, let's take it four devices - the MicroCell's limit - and see how things fare then.
A plethora of phones? Either way, it's enough to make AT&T sweat.
The MicroCell handles the limit of four devices perfectly fine, all four phones joined the femtocell in under a minute after moving into the coverage range. Simultaneous data across all four is doable, but not ideal. It's very obvious there's additional overhead. I did notice what I can only describe as occasional glitchiness, getting all four tests to run at the same time was just a bit challenging. This is likely the iPhone's tendency to break data connections and reestablish them only when needed to preserve battery rearing its head.
For these tests, I ran speedtest.net at the same time on all the phones and averaged the results across the phones. Again, we can see the very obvious upstream cap of around 60 Kbps.
Performance doesn't scale linearly, and again in location 2 I wasn't in the room where the MicroCell was, I was a few rooms away. The biggest thing I can take away is that if you've got internet at your home or small office where you're installing the MicroCell, you've probably got WiFi too. At that rate, just use WiFi for data, and only tax the MicroCell with voice and SMS.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
63 Comments
View All Comments
A beautiful mind - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
My Nokia N900 already uses the home/office wifi connection to access the internet, with the possibility to receive/make calls from/to skype.There is absolutely no extra functionality that is provided by the femtocell approach.
softdrinkviking - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
For you and me, this is true.But not for everyone.
That's the really sad thing about this device. It's designed as a way to nickel and dime poor souls whose homes are in a dead zone and absolutely have to answer their phone for business.
nafhan - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
Great article, and you did an excellent job of diving into the tech behind the femtocell.An interesting follow up to this article might be to see what kind of results you get from purchasing an antenna and repeater. I've seen antenna/repeater setups online in the $350 and up range, and wondered how they would do. If they work OK, it might be a viable alternative, especially for people without good internet connections.
gwolfman - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
Where is the print article feature on the new site?Maroon - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
They've been sneaking these things in Apple stores. No wonder the iPhone feelgood only lasts untill you get out of the store and have to rely on the "standard" AT&T network. LOL.soccerharms - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
Are you kiddin' me? I am going to approach this from two angles. The first being that this article is completely fake. ITS APRIL 1st people! The tech community should have an uproar for such a device. We buy internet and it is usually our responsibility to distribute it around the house with a router for wireless and whatnot. HOWEVER, we do not buy a wireless......phone plan with the intention on increasing a carriers crappy signal in our own house out of our pocket. That's ludacris! There is another much cheaper solution...........its called a LAN line with a cordless phone HA!The only company that could profit from a device like this would be Apple. But they would have to make it a little more shiney and put that quarter eaten logo on the side :)
Let the battles begin....
Jaybus - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
This is like buying an airline ticket only to find there is no flight. Since they don't have a flight, the airline offers to sell you your own airplane. You have to provide your own pilot, fuel, and maintenance, but you still have to pay them the full price for a ticket whenever you fly your own airplane. So my idea is to start a car rental business that has no cars. Anyone willing to pay AT&T for a microcell that uses their own Internet connection would surely be willing to pay me a rental fee for driving their own car.HotFoot - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
Eh... much of this market is iPhone users - people already willing to accept the concept of ecosystem lock-in. By a similar analogy to your car rental company, they're already willing to buy a car from a company that requires that they drive only on roads built or approved by that company, buy gas only at that company's stations, and buy car insurance from that company.Why not charge them for the roadside delivery of a jerry can of gas when the customer finds out the station filled their tank with water instead of fuel?
yacoub - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
I give it a year or two before the first cancer danger report comes out. ;)loydcase - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
AT&T cell reception at my house is weak in spots. OTOH, if a femtocell allows me to rip out my landlines, it might be worth it. So I'd like to know if a femtocell would be viable for that purpose.