My Little Rant

Before Angela and I moved to Marshfield, we had had a great experience with Verizon Wireless as our wireless carrier. However, once we moved, the reception at our new apartment left a lot to be desired. We had little, to no reception anywhere on the north side of town. My first instinct was the check out the Verizon Wireless Network Extender. The Network Extender is a femtocell. As Wikipedia explains, a femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable); current designs typically support 2 to 4 active mobile phones in a residential setting. A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. What a great idea, I thought. The price was a ridiculous $249, didn't support 3G, and whenever we used it, it would use minutes against our plan. Furthermore, it used our Internet connection and allowed other Verizon customers to use it. So, let me get this straight . . . I get stuck paying $249 because Verizon has poor coverage in my house and they use my Internet connection to place my calls. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean how is me using this device detrimental to them? It is less burden on their network and more on mine. As long as it worked, I guess I didn't really care. After some research, I found out that we live in the Extended Enhanced Services Area, not the Enhanced Services Area. Therefore, the Network Extender wasn't an option.

Now, Verizon isn't the only wireless carrier that offers such a device. Sprint has the Airave, T-Mobile has the HotSpot@Home, and ATT is going to be coming out with the 3G MicroCell. All of them have a different pricing structure (both upfront and monthly), but all are nonetheless BS. Again, customers get stuck paying an upfront cost, and in some cases a monthly cost, because a wireless carrier has poor reception. Yet, by purchasing a femtocell they take less burden off the carrier's actual wireless network. IMHO, it would make more sense to charge customers the cost of the device and give unlimited minutes unconditionally. That way, you have a happy customer that has great coverage. In my case, I switched carriers and Verizon lost $150 a month from me (pennies for them).