If you’ve been experiencing choppy voice quality or dropped calls from your mobile provider atyour home or workplace, there are steps you can take to correct the problem.
Cellular phones use radio signals to communicate, and like any other radio, signalpropagation issues — including topography, obstructions, distance to tower andinterference — affect quality.
One method you can use for improving signal is to boost it with an amplifier and externalantenna, and I’ve written about that before.
Another technique is to forget all about attempting to hit the carrier’s mast, and squirt thecall over your own miniature cell tower and broadband Internet connection. This is calleda “Femtocell” connection.
What Is It?
Femtocells are low-power cellular radio base stations that interface with the Internet — abit like a Voice over IP application.
The router-sized base station provides a better signal for your existing mobile phone thanthe neighborhood cell tower. This results in better voice and data quality at your level.
Femtocell advantages include better phone battery life — the phone doesn’thave to work as hard finding a signal — and a break on call charges, because the calls are sent over your ownconnection.
Femtocell Prerequisites
Verify that you have a broadband Internet connection and not a dial-up connection.Broadband is an always-on connection. Sprint’s devices, for example, need a minimum of300 kbps up and down for voice, and 3 Mbps down and 1.8 Mbps up for data.
Don’t worry too much if your data-side broadband bandwidth isn’t sufficient. Just bypassthe phone’s mobile data and set your phone to its WiFi radio when at home.
How to Get a Femtocell
Kick and scream until your mobile phone service provider gives you one. The devicescan cost north of a hundred dollars, or you can “qualify” for a free one. Try to qualifyyourself by threatening to close your account with the carrier.
Your phone company knows that spotty service — particularly at home — is a deal breaker,and that you’re quite capable of ponying up the US$150 or so contractcancellation fee, and buying phone service from someone who will do what they say theywill do — in this case, provide audible phone calls.
The carrier is also painfully aware that its marketing department and engineeringdepartment are located on different planets, and just because the marketing departmentsays the carrier provides the best calls known to man, that may not be the case per theengineering department.
Installing Your Femtocell
Unplug any router and modem power supplies.
Disconnect the existing router’s Ethernet cable from the modem, and plug a Femtocell-package included Ethernet cable into the modem. Plug the other end of that cable into theFemtocell’s WAN port. It may be labeled “Internet.”
Power the modem and allow it to stabilize. This can take a few minutes.
Power the Femtocell device with the included power supply. This can also take a fewminutes. Look for stabilizing lights on the Femtocell.
Plug any supplied external GPS antenna into the Femtocell. The GPS antenna lets thecarrier verify you’re in a service area. The GPS antenna may need to be placed closer to awindow if the GPS light doesn’t illuminate green on the Femtocell. A GPS lock can takeup to 30 minutes.
Connect an Ethernet cable from the existing router’s WAN port, sometimeslabeled “Internet” to a LAN port on the Femtocell. Power the router.
Tip: On Sprint setups, the router is behind the Femtocell, which is behind the modem. Thewiring diagram is in that case is modem-to-Femtocell-to-router. Check your Femtocell’squick start guide.
Allow a few hours for the Femtocell to stabilize. The LED lights on the Femtocell shouldbecome steady.
Tip: Check your Internet services. In my case, Sprint’s Airave product hosed my YouTube on Android delivered via the WiFi router. I used elimination to identify the culprit — the Femtocell.
In a case like that, try installing the Femtocell behind the router, and the router behind themodem. Then test the Femtocell for calling stability.
In my case, there wasn’t a Femtocell stability problem despite Sprint advising against thatwiring diagram for stability reasons.
Operating the Femtocell
Follow the instructions that came with the Femtocell to verify your phone is provisionedon the network.
Sprint requests you initially dial “*99” and listen for a message that says you are withinAirave coverage. “Airave” is Sprint’s Femtocell product name. Call the carrier if the phoneisn’t provisioned.
Making Calls
Make calls normally. Sprint’s Airave product sounds three short beeps to let you knowthat the call is being handled by the Femtocell radio. Check your quick start guide forcarrier-specific notifications.
Tip: Toggle the phone between Air Safe modes on and off to force the phone to look forthe Femtocell if, when arriving home, the phone is lethargic locking on the Femtocellradio.
Want to Ask a Tech Question?
Is there a piece of tech you’d like to know how to operate properly? Is there a gadget that’s got you confounded? Please send your tech questions to me, and I’ll try to answer as many as possible in this column.
And use the Talkback feature below to add your comments!
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AT&T sells a microcell device for $160 that comes with a one year warranty for the many folks like me who can’t get service in their home with AT&T’s deficient coverage area. My microcell device just died after 17 months and after speaking with 3 different levels of their "customer service" AT&T tells me I’m S.O.L. and have to buy another one for another $160. Fortunately I AM past the end of my contract, so I can go to the competition and leave AT&T in the dust as a bad memory. AT&T does not stand behind the products they sell.