If any of you have heard of the at&t microcell then you most likely know what I talking about. A microcell consists of one device hooked up to your internet at home. This device is made to throw out a cell signal in a dead zone. As with any carrier with low coverage these may be needed at home. So sprint tends to offer them to customers if they need one. They will sometimes them them away for free if your lucky.
What exactly does a microcell do?
As we mentioned above a microcell connects to your internet and uses that to direct calls. It also works for "4G" and texting. However it's a bit of a spoof at best because it's not using "4g". What it's really using is your home based internet to route everything through there. So you may be thinking, if it works then why do I care how it works?
Why do you care?
You should care because when you use it for your home it uses your bandwidth. Bandwidth is how much data your internet can push at one time. If you have speeds of 100Mbs which is really fast for home internet. Then a device like this may not bother you at all. However if you have speeds of 5-10Mbs then prepare for buffering from your favorite Netflix show. Making calls or sending texts most likely won't be an issue. However if someone is using their phone also to watch Netflix, you're going to be piggybacking off the shared limit.
What if I don't have home internet?
Well in that case a sprint microcell is not for you. It's a requirement that you have home internet for it to work. As you can imagine this also adds an extra cost to your sprint service. You must have home internet which has a monthly bill. I understand that some folks have it anyways, but do you need a sprint microcell?
Wifi Calling:
Sprint offers wifi calling for many people n the world today, chances are you do too. This is why a microcell may not be for you. Just hook your phone to your wifi at home and make calls like normal. There is no need to go out and hook up another device to get the job done. I recommend this to many people and it seems to work out. Sprint has a few different names for their device. However it seems AT&T has the most popular name for such devices.
