Buy a Mini-Tower to Get the Signal You Paid For – NYTimes.com

On my last trip to Chicago I noticed that data connections for iPhone were plain abysmal. If you live in a large metropolitan area, the iPhone can be a liability, not an asset, when it comes to data service. ATT comes with a stop gap solution, at least while your phone is at home. A minitower that connects the phone to the ATT trunk lines via your Internet connection. The catch? It will cost you….

he size of a couple of decks of cards, these mini-towers act and look like Wi-Fi hot spots at cafes, and redirect cellphone calls from congested cell towers to home Web connections.

“It’s a fabulous idea, especially if you can’t get service, but to charge for it is insulting,” said Christina Zachariades, 28, of Manhattan who already pays $130 a month for iPhone service but cannot receive or make calls in her fifth-floor apartment on the Upper East Side. “How much more do I have to pay to get the service required for me to use my phone?”

via Buy a Mini-Tower to Get the Signal You Paid For – NYTimes.com.