Why Some AT&T Customers Might Want to Stay Away from "MicroCell"

It appears there are at least two distinct customer segments where it comes to use of AT&T's new femtocell offering.

Users who really cannot get decent macrocell coverage in their homes or offices probably will welcome the "MicroCell."

But users who do not have that problem, and want to offload their data traffic to the in-home network, will be better off avoiding the Microcell.

The reason is that data consumed on its MicroCell femtocell will be included in subscribers' newly capped monthly data allowance.

Any 3G data traffic running over the AT&T MicroCell will count towards a user's monthly data limits, just as making voice calls over the Microcell counts towards a user's monthly bucket of minutes.

It is possible to get unlimited calling on the Microcell for $19.99 per month, but this is only for voice calls, not data.

In contrast, Wi-Fi usage does not count towards a subscriber's monthly data limit, even though both access methods use the customer's own fixed broadband connection. Of course, AT&T has to invest capital to acquire, deploy and support the femtocells, so relying on the customer's own equipment makes sense, where possible.

The 3G MicroCell complements Wi-Fi by providing enhanced in-home voice coverage and reliable data when Wi-Fi may not be available -- but it is primarily intended for voice calls.

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