As you remember from last month, I reported on how Verizon and Sprint Wireless customers can improve (or even simply provide) coverage in their homes or businesses. Known generally as a femtocell* this micro-cell-tower is, in essence, a box you place anywhere there's Internet access. It connects Verizon's network to your cell phones locally, via the Internet. Here's a review of the product.

Michael's home's Verizon cellular coverage isn't ideal so we installed one of these units. It was easy. For me, particularly, since he sprung for the one-time $250 fee and I got to play with it.

• Connect ethernet to Internet router or directly to cable modem or DSL.
• Connect power
• Wait at least 10 minutes (maybe up to an hour) for the GPS receiver to lock. This was our only stumbling point - I didn't get a blue GPS light on the box right away so I though we had signal problems.
• Watch for 4 blue lights on the box.

You're on. How do you know? Because if you dial #48 you'll get a confirmation message. Also, when you make or take a call, if the extender is handling it, you'll hear quick confirmation tones. If you have problems here are some FAQs.

They say that you should place cell phones directly next to the unit for a few minutes so they can get to know each other. We did this with Michael's Samsung Omnia phone and did not do it with my Omnia and both worked.

The unit comes with a cable to allow you to extend the GPS antenna outdoors if necessary. As noted in Step 3 above, I thought we'd have to do this because I didn't get a blue GPS light. Be patient and give it some time before resorting to this.

Data Please?
It appears that the Network Extender will not transmit the faster EVDO (Rev0 and RevA) Internet data format. It appears that it will handle the slower 1X RTT speed data. While Michael's phone was tethered to his laptop, which was running a speed test from http://speedtest.net, I pulled the ethernet cable - the test continued, so the phone must have elected to use the EVDO signal from the cell tower which, though slower than it would be at a better location, was still faster than 1X RTT. Some people have bemoaned this lackof EVDO support. But most people, if they have Internet (as required for the Network Extender) will just use that while home and use the phone while mobile. Many modern Smartphones even have WiFi that you can use to keep it syncronised with your mail server while you're at home or elsewhere with poor cellular data rates.

Multiple Yakkers
The unit provides 4 wireless channels which support 3 concurrent calls (the 4th is reserved for 911 calls). That's fine unless your unit is at an office, or unless you're having a party, or unless you have a BIG family with a LOT of Verizon phones. The product allows you to designate up to 50 Verizon phone numbers as Priority Callers. Verizon customers can enter these numbers via their My Verizon profile on the Internet. Now, non-priority callers can still make a call. But if a priority caller tries to make a call when all 3 channels are busy, a non-priority caller will be bumped to accommodate them.

A Soft Handoff
I wanted to see if the unit would hand me off gracefully to a cell tower when I left its range. I confirmed that I was calling Mrs. Telecom via Michael's Network Extender, left the premises, and never knew I'd been thru a "soft handoff". According to the FAQs, this would not be true the other way - if the unit was in a place where there's NO, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH, cell tower coverage, a call initiated where there WAS coverage would not get handed off as I approached the Network Extender and I'd eventually lose the call.

Michael is pleased with the improved call quality. He's still not "5 bars" at all places in his 3-level home but he's better off than he was.

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* A dear friend read my original post and asked "Why is it called a FEMTOcell?". It's kinda dumb really. People talk about mini-this and micro-that to indicate that a newer item is smaller than or is a subset of the original. In the Greek order-of-magnitude prefix system, the next smallest thing (1000th of micro) is "nano". NanoCells, used by Mark From Ork to say Goodbye or as mini cell systems in isolated locations, were already in existence. Then comes "pico". The term picocell was already used to define what's essentially just the radio part of a femtocell. The NEXT smallest prefix, femto (1000th of pico), was thus employed. Its actual value, 10-to-the-minus-15 of something, is irrelevant.