MicroCell
™
 Informational Document for 
Technical, Operational, and Troubleshooting Issues v1.7 
by Otto Pylot 
 
 
Page 5 of 23 
 
 
The MicroCell can support up to four voice or data users at once and can be shared 
with up to 15 UMTS mobile phones (but they must all be on the AT&T service). 
 
There is no monthly cost to use the MicroCell unless you choose to opt for the  
unlimited in-home use plan. Pricing and rebates may vary from time to time. 
 
You can have multiple MicroCells on one account at a single location to extend 
coverage. 
 
Nominal setup: modem -> router -> MicroCell. 
 
The MicroCell needs to be no more than 18” away from a window with an 
unobstructed view of the sky and at least 2’ away from a WiFi source. The MicroCell 
can be oriented in such a way that the side of the MicroCell is horizontal to the 
window if you are having trouble getting a good GPS lock. In other words, if you are 
looking at the lights on the front of the MicroCell, the right or left side is facing the 
window. The reason is that the antennas are located on the top of the pc board and 
sometimes a 90 degree orientation is enough to render GPS fixing variable. GPS 
connectivity must be maintained at all times.  
 
If you need to use a GPS extension antenna to locate the MicroCell away from a 
window they can be found online. The connector is a MCX type. One adapter that is  
available is from L-Com (Part#CA-MPNFCN19) and allows one to connect a 70 Ft 
type high quality "N" cable to an external GPS antenna, but others that are not so  
expensive are available from Amazon and you can even find one specific for the 
MicroCell. 
 
Alternate setup: modem -> MicroCell -> router.  
 
This is usually reserved for troubleshooting because it by-passes the router 
altogether which eliminates one source of connection issues. You can use the 
connection if it solves your problem without any harm, but the MicroCell will have a 
direct connection to the internet and this configuration may adversely affect other 
connected network devices, especially their bandwidth. 
 
Minimum Router requirements:  
  DHCP enabled 
Ports 123 UDP, 443 TCP, 500 UDP, and 4500 UDP must be open (Public and   
Private ports). 
  IPSec Pass-Through is enabled 
  Block Fragmented Packets is disabled 
NAT duties handled by only one device if you have a separate router and 
modem (gateway)