Gizmodo: ubicell

Sprint/Samsung Instant Cell-to-Wi-Fi Box Is Official, Named Airave

Matt Buchanan — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:27:08 EDT

Sprint's answer to T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home, Airave, makes its official debut today in Denver and Indianapolis before hitting the rest of the country next year. Samsung's femtocell-powered box can handle three calls at once and will go for $50, with the service running $15 a month per person or $30 per family. While you have to pay for the box (unlike H@H), you can use any Sprint phone with it since it blasts a local CDMA channel before sending the signal through the tubes, which might just make it worth the price of admission—well, that and unlimited free calls from your couch. Full presser:

Sprint Customers in Select Areas of Denver and Indianapolis Get AIRAVE for Enhanced In-Home Coverage and Unlimited Calling Monday September 17, 8:00 am ET Sprint Introduces Industry-First Femtocell That Works with Any Sprint Phone for Convenient, Reliable Wireless Use at Home
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sprint (NYSE:S - News) customers in select areas of Denver and Indianapolis will now be able to enjoy enhanced wireless coverage and unlimited minutes in their homes with today's limited launch of the Sprint AIRAVE by Samsung in the two cities. The Sprint AIRAVE is the first commercially available femtocell, a compact base station that works with any Sprint phone and a broadband Internet connection to provide enhanced in-home wireless coverage plus unlimited calling.

"With the AIRAVE, Sprint is delivering an enhanced in-home coverage solution that's simple to access, low in cost and compatible with any Sprint phone," said Ajit Bhatia, director of product management for Sprint. "In addition, with unlimited in-home wireless calling, the AIRAVE makes it even more convenient for customers to rely on their Sprint phones at home."

With the Sprint AIRAVE by Samsung, Sprint customers can:

* Get enhanced coverage in their homes.
* Talk all they want while in their homes, without worrying about using their wireless minutes. Unlimited incoming and outgoing calls and nationwide long distance are included while using a Sprint phone at home.
* Take advantage of enhanced coverage and unlimited home calling without having to purchase a new phone. All Sprint phones are compatible with the AIRAVE.
* Reduce their monthly communication expenses. AIRAVE service is priced at just $15 per month for individuals and $30 per month for families, in addition to the customer's regular wireless voice plan.
* Easily install the device using their existing broadband Internet service and a power outlet.
* Have their calls automatically transferred back to the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network when they leave home.

Starting today, Sprint customers in select areas of Denver and Indianapolis will be able to purchase the AIRAVE at area Sprint stores for $49.99. Sprint plans to make the AIRAVE available later this year to customers in the remainder of Denver and Indianapolis, along with Nashville, and to customers nationwide in 2008.

For more information regarding the AIRAVE's availability in their area, customers should visit www.sprint.com/AIRAVE. There customers can enter their ZIP code to find out if they are in a limited launch area. Customers not in a limited launch area can then register on the site to receive notification when AIRAVE is available to them.

Samsung Ubicell Instant Cell to WiFi Box Coming to Sprint

Brian Lam — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:38:21 EDT

Samsung's Ubicell, first seen at CTIA, is finally finding a home on Sprint. It's a box that you plug into the wall, at which point the box blossoms into a femtocell-powered base station good for 5000 sq feet of fresh reception. Apparently rates would be unlimited, like Tmobile's @ Home WiFi UMA service. Good. But bad for TMobile.

Any Sprint cellphone will work on this hotspot, as it still uses a local CDMA channel to link to phones before sending that signal over the net. The repeater can support 3 phones or 1XRTT data sessions at once, routing calls using femtocell technology to Sprint's infrastructure over the internet. And you can filter phone access to 50 handsets/data cards of your choosing.[Gearlog]

Samsung UbiCell Provides Cell Coverage for Unabomber-Types

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:00:48 EDT

If you're living in a location so remote that even standard cellular repeaters can't salvage your cellphone connection, the UbiCell from Samsung should be the device for you. The UbiCell connects via 10/100 Ethernet through your cable connection and pipes WCDMA/HSDPA through the internet to your provider, which routes to whoever you're calling normally. The end result for you is that now you have a cellular connection in your home where there was none before.

Samsung's working on provider support—the Ubi is going to be distributed through SpriVeriAT&TMo whenever they work out an appropriate deal—similar to the way that T-Mobile's VoIP service is being rolled out soon. The thing does look nice, which is probably secondary to its ability to let you use your cell at home. We'll update when there's word from a provider. – Jason Chen