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Message 3G MicroCell AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high-speed Internet, and voice services worldwide. The company maintains powerful array of network resources, including the fastest 3G network in the United States. However, like all carriers, some AT&T users get less-than-perfect reception at home or work. The solution: femtocells. These small base stations boost the cellular signal via existing broadband Internet service anywhere they’re plugged in, and multiple phones can use them. Looking to make its femtocell device a prominent fixture in people’s homes and small businesses, AT&T tapped IDEO for the industrial design of its initial product, the 3G MicroCell. The company asked IDEO to work with Cisco Systems, AT&T’s technical partner, to give the base station an unexpected, iconic, and attractive form. The idea was to convince consumers to showcase MicroCell in their homes and offices, rather than hide it under a desk or in a closet alongside other networking equipment. Being left out in the open enables better reception for the antenna, helping to improve the device’s overall performance. IDEO and Cisco had just eight weeks to come up with a new design that did not add to the product’s cost and could be ready for user trials by early 2009. IDEO took responsibility for the overall industrial design and basic mechanical engineering, while the Cisco oversaw its full development, molding, and debugging. The teams collaborated closely to resolve the technical limitations of the device’s existing cooling structure, circuit board, and GPS antenna placement (for example, consumers had to be prevented from turning the device on its side, so the GPS antennae works properly). IDEO and Cisco presented four visual concepts along a cost continuum from “costs the same” to “more expensive than current device.” AT&T chose the go-to-market concept with the most visual impact—the base station looks like a small, abstract cellular antenna—that fit within the tight cost constraints. The design won an IDEA 2010 Silver award from the Industrial Designers Society of America. After a limited rollout in 2009, AT&T launched the 3G MicroCell in all of its markets in 2010. A major telecom journal listed the device as one of its top picks for wireless infrastructure. Unlike other products on the market today, the MicroCell is remarkable not only for its sleek, minimalist appearance, but also for its easy in-home set-up experience. “The setup process is mostly plug and play—if you’ve got a router, it jacks into that, or if you plug your computer directly into a modem, it has a port for pass-through. You just activate the MicroCell through AT&T’s website and then wait for about an hour as it springs to life,” wrote a reviewer for Gizmodo.com, which called the device a “life changer.” “The MicroCell acts like a mini cell tower in your home,” Brian X. Chen explained to Wired’s GadgetLab readers. “It connects to your existing broadband Internet service through an Ethernet cable, according to AT&T, and then beams out a cell signal that has a range of about 40 feet, or enough to cover most apartments and houses. It will provide better cell-signal performance for both voice calls and cellular-data applications, such as picture messaging and web surfing, even if you’re in an area that has no AT&T coverage at all. Only devices that you authorize—up to 10—can connect to your MicroCell.” http://www.ideo.com/work/3g-microcell/