T-Mobile HotSpot@Home launches
As if we really didn’t know it was a comin’. T-Mobile has officially rolled out their HotSpot@Home service nationally and if offering a free D-Link, or Linksys Wi-Fi router with paid service agreement. The unlimited add-on plan will go for $9.99 on top of your traditional voice plan, but what’s really cool is that included calls that even originate from Wi-Fi. Let’s say your talking to someone from home and using your home Wi-Fi, but then realize you have to run out of the house. The call seamlessly switches from Wi-Fi, to GSM except, your not charged for that call. Very sneaky and cool! This is definitely T-Mobile’s attempt to try and drum up some hype for their underachieving wireless data network and poor coverage, but this is an extremely useful feature and service nonetheless. What a week to launch, right?
I think that the @home service will break consumers into the idea of UMA, but unless they updated the list of compatible devices, it might not take off the way they would hope.
Permalink | Reply
I this would be great and as most would say they need more devices. Also what makes people think they haven’t already started a 3G network roll out so what is to say that their next release of information, stuff BG hasn’t gotten, will be about a 3G network.
So I hope this get a big push… as well as an expansion to other carriers, are you listening ATT.
Permalink | Reply
I agree. We need a Blackberry or WM phone that can make use of this. My one other hesitation with this is that my plan is already so cheap for so many minutes that I never go over anyway. But if you’re a serious talker or on a Family Plan this seems like it would make a lot of sense.
Permalink | Reply
Just a clarification for everyone…
For the calls to be free and not deduct from your plan minutes, the call must ORIGINATE and END while contuously utilizing WiFi. If you leave or come home, yes it does seamlessly transfer networks, but because the call did not originate or end while on WiFi, minutes are deducted.
Permalink | Reply
Mobile control you are wrong, as long as the call is made within the wi-fi range minutes will no be deducted even though you were to step away. Of course that is if the plan for unlimited mins for hotspot@home is added(9.99 for individual, 19.99 for all family lines)….. the UMA factor allows seamless connection, t-mobile only captures where call was originated not completed
Permalink | Reply
It should be very interesting to see if adding the capability of UMA/GAN will change T-mobiles standing as a wireless provider forever. The basics are the same when it comes to making a call using UMA or using GSM. When calling from a phone using UMA it uses wifi to connect to telephony intstead of connecting using standard GSM signal. Both connections types are still regestered on the HLR . Using a UMA phone would be ideal in areas where cell sevice is not availble
What I gathered from T-mobile is that they will allow their customer unlimited telephony when connecting using UMA for about $10 a month. Without this added feature any calls made using UMA would be deducted from your plans anytime minutes. Unlimited phone calls for $10 a month is a pretty sweet deal and I can see why customers would subscribe but on the downside when using uma without feature will always take away from you minutes even if you have unlimited nights weekend or mobile to mobile.
Now with that said. How can this technology change T-mobile standing as a wireless provider forever? Yeah T-mobile would make a whopping $10 a month for every person that subscibes to the unlimited UMA package but that’s nothing compared to what can happen if T-mobile nation-wide UMA is successfull.
What is number 1 reson why people carry cell phones with them is so they can place phone calls. Everyone knows that you can’t make calls if you don’t have a signal. The more people using phones the harder it is to connect (ex new years eve at midnight). The use of UMA will free up those lines and increase signal by large margins.
So in clossing if you are going to use uma subscibe to the unlimied uma
Permalink | Reply
So these devices will use t-mobile hotspots automatically? Does that mean subscribers also have t-mobile hotspot access for other uses? I’m assuming no for laptop access, but what about net access from the phone itself?
And is UMA something more than just having a phone that can do wifi already? ie, will this work with my Nokia N95?
Will it also work on other wifi access points? I’m kind of doubting it due to the hassles of WEP or WPA and defining access points.
But seriously, this is going to kill the market for those who buy Vonage or cable company’s voice over ip plans. Why bother? Just scrap it all and use one number (your personal t-mobile number) for everything?
Permalink | Reply
Why is it that I can’t find any information about this on either the T-Mo website or their onlyphoneyouneed website?
Permalink | Reply
To WEAVE…
Users will not have a laptop hotspot account, calling feature is just an add on and only pertains to the phones making unlimited calls. Remember you can still make calls without that, they just use your minutes. still great bonus for someone with poor coverage at home. What’s that like all of us, seriously?
Net access will work using UMA also. so using a phone as a modem or running faster internet is also a draw for this.
These phones will work on any wifi access point for data and voice, the voice threshold is about 5 phones per router.
Your N95 would need special hardware to work with T-Mo’s service. European UMA phones will also not work for the same reason.
Permalink | Reply
WHERE IS THE BB WITH WIFI?? THE 8820 OR 8320. LAST I HEARD FROM MY NATIONAL ACCOUTS REP, THE 8320 WAS SLATED FOR LATE SEPTEMBER AND NO INFO ON THE 8820…..WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
Permalink | Reply
i just hope this means the blackberry curve with wifi is right around the corner … im dying for that phone
Permalink | Reply
Cool, if you have a family plan on t-mobile, they have a family plan for hotspots@home for only 19.99. At least you won’t have to pay 9.99 for each line.
Permalink | Reply
People are not yet realizing the magnitude of UMA. As The Boy G. mentioned in the post, the release comes at a time when a certain cell phone is meeting with more press than Paris Hilton. The irony is that UMA represents a much greater achievement. We’re talking about a ubiquitous communication protocol here. This is huge!
Permalink | Reply
Hi,
Will someone clear up for me the Wifi handoff ?
For handoff, you have to engage a T-Mobile HotSpot or a Wifi setup employing T-Mobile gear,
NOT just ANY Wifi site, right ?
Permalink | Reply
so if i choose the option where i just use my normal minutes, using hotspot@home will subtract from my minutes even if i call a fave 5 person or call during my free minutes time?
also, does anyone know if there will be better phones soon?
Permalink | Reply
If you have a blackberry and go to the T=mobile website, it asks you to upgrade to new crappier phone to get the @home hotspot service, and doesn’t even tell you that your blackberry service won’t work! pretty stupid. Get us a real phone for this no one will actually give up their blackberrys for this obvioulsy.
Permalink | Reply
I spoke to a T-mo retail rep who claimed that the 9.99/19.99 price will be available ’til Sept 12. Did we here murmurs of a Pearl 2 with wifi dropping in Sept? I am guessing Sept 13.
Permalink | Reply
Actually, I was the first person to sign up in the Birmingham market. (or so I was told about a week later). Service is good. I’ve connected w/ no issues to various open wireless networks. On a family vacation, I was able to have my home number with me (ported it from Vonage) as well as having free calls from my Dad’s house and Brother in law’s. I can’t connect to the one at work probably due to MAC filtering. I have about a 1-2 bar signal at home before this and I’m still getting used to being able to talk and walk around at the same time! My wife and I are both anxiously waiting for the 8320 B’berry. Pearl2 would even be nice. I’ve had one call drop and I’ve heard the handoff once. Sounded like the other person had a call-waiting signal - about a 1/2 second mute. I’m using the Nokia hardware. Surprisingly enough, this “basic” phone supports video, A2DP, and a memory card (w/ external access!) So far, I’m very pleased.
Permalink | Reply
Ya the other thing is it’s supposed to handle handoffs quite nicely you guys should go though the FAQ’s on T-Mobile interesting info and details about it…
Permalink | Reply
Hold on — there’s one part to all this I don’t understand. OK - T-Mobile sends you a wi-fi router - what do you hook that up to? You’re not supposed to need your land-line anymore. So it hooks up to T-Mobile cellphone “airwaves” ?
Secondly, can I use the T-Mobile router for anything else I want? like my Online game on PlayStation?
Permalink | Reply
James-
The router will hook up to your existing internet. I don’t think you need to use the one they provide though.
Permalink | Reply
if you do not use the provided router then the calls sound bad. if you use another router & are downloading the calls have a sound delay. i have this service & am hating it. it drops from wifi to cell all the time even when i have no cell reception. people are calling me and getting an out of service message. another bad thing is with the tmobile router it makes my internet as slow as dial up & is losing packets. they are suppose to be working on this. but its been a headache. plus my samsung t409 wont save my contacts to sim card. lots of minor problems. i did go to starrbucks the other day & was happy to see the wifi calls were available there. when i took my old sim card & put it in the new phone & saved the contacts then syncd them to my album there was a duplication problem. everytime i updated a contact it would add it but save the old copy until i used the myalbums delete button, not just remove from my phone button.
you cant send mp3s to the phone via my albums like promised but you can send amr & mid files that way. if you use a converter for the mp3 to amr the sound quality is so bad that you need to turn the loudness to 3 or less. once you do that the other alerts are too quiet to hear from another room.
this service will be amazing once the bugs are worked out. until then though its a hassel. (5 hours with tech support in 3 days)
Permalink | Reply