Femtocells are slowly becoming more popular among US cell phone customers who get poor reception in their homes. The carriers that offer the devices, however, are taking decidedly different stances on how to handle the devices. Unlike some of its competition (AT&T, most notably), Sprint seems to be taking a particularly customer-friendly approach and is supposedly offering free femtocells to customers having coverage problems, though each situation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The device that Sprint is distributing is the Airave, which uses your home broadband connection to help you make and receive calls in a low-coverage area. When you leave your house, your calls are automatically transferred to Sprint’s cell network. (Read our feature on femtocells to learn more about how they work.)

Normally, the Airave would cost customers $99.99 plus a monthly subscription to an Airave plan, but Sprint is willing to give one to customers with “specific in-building coverage issues,” and for no additional monthly charge. “Each customer situation is reviewed independently to determine whether the customer would qualify and benefit from Airave use,” Sprint spokesperson Mark Elliott told FierceWireless. He