AT&T will soon offer to its subscribers an accessory that can significantly improve their cell phone's reception.
According to investment banking firm ThinkPanmure, the wireless network operator has contracted with UK-based firm ip.access Ltd to provide femtocells for sale to AT&T customers.
The carrier reportedly plans to sell up to 7 million units over the next five years, pricing them as low as $100 to its customers.
What Are Femtocells?
Femtocells are tiny cell phone base stations that act much like a Wi-Fi access point, providing independent cellular coverage to a home or small office, while using an existing Internet connection to talk to the rest of the network.
This gives the user cheap or free voice calling, as well as high-speed Internet on their mobile device, regardless of what quality of coverage their location has, and without needing to purchase new phones.
Sprint already has a femtocell pilot program running in three U.S. cities. T-Mobile USA offers a different service using WiFi-enabled handsets instead of a cellular signal.