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New Device Improves Cell Phone Reception Indoors

by Joshua Fruhlinger on September 17, 2007 at 09:15 AM

Sprint AiraveSprint Nextel is selling the Airave, a device that boosts cell phone reception indoors. The Airwave is a little box that plugs into a broadband Internet connection and essentially creates your own personal cellular tower.

This is great news for those who live in remote locations that don't have nearby cell towers but do have broadband Internet access. It is also a good solution for office buildings that are either so thick or large that offices and cubicles in the center of the building lose cellular service.

This technology, called "femtocell," isn't entirely new. In fact, we covered it back in July. This is the first time an American carrier is offering it to its customers, though. T-Mobile has a somewhat similar service, but it requires specially equipped phones -- Sprint's Airave uses regular cell phones and switches you back to the standard cellular network when you head out into the real world.

Of course, good things like this don't come for free: Sprint Nextel is offering the device for $50 plus a $15 per month fee, which, in our opinion, is a little stiff for a device that sounds more like a customer service solution rather than an expensive convenience, especially from a company that has had some serious customer service gaffs this year. It's also only available in Denver and Indianapolis for now.

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Tags: airave, femtocell, sprint, t-mobile, t-movile

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