The "Micro" Cell

We have horrible cell phone reception at home in the US.  We have AT &T but I think that all the mobile operators have the same problem here.  At the store, the sales guy told me that it isn't AT & T's fault, it's the City of Manhattan Beach that won't let more towers be built to extend cell coverage.  I'm semi-skeptical, but I can't imagine having a cell tower on my roof and there is very little public property around here.

So, I got a "hot tip" a couple of days ago that I could call AT&T and get a "micro" cell which would extend coverage.

After a lot (!!!) of run-around, I finally got it today.  The run-around is that they should give everyone this cell so that we can use our phones.  The obvious thing is to change carriers if they don't help out.  After several phone calls and an extended and weird negotiation at the store, I got the micro cell, brought it home and plugged it in.  I'm waiting for it to boot up before I can call this a result.  It is supposed to take 90 minutes, but I think that's just enough time for all the people I've dealt with today to finish their shift so I don't bug them again.

At the store, when I asked for AT &T to waive the cost ($199) they tried to make me buy something else that is the same cost, give me the micro cell and then I could return the other product.  They actually then tried to get me to buy another product, but it just seemed too convoluted.  I can't figure out why they would do this.  In any case, I am expecting a credit on the next bill.  I am also expecting my phone to ring a bit more often.  We'll see.

The bad part of this product is that you've got to register all the phones to this cell. So, if I have a micro cell but my neighbor doesn't he can't use his phone with mine.  That seems like a bother since now everyone will have one more device and if they don't, they won't have cell service.