T-Mobile |
If you're not sure what a home Wi-Fi router and cellphone have in common -- read on.
|
Readers often write me to ask what can be done about not being able to use their cell phones inside their homes. Many people can’t find a usable cellular signal indoors.
Until now, the best advice I could give them was to stand near a window or walk outdoors to find an adequate cellular signal. Notice I said until now.
That’s because T-Mobile has come up with a clever way to have near-perfect cell phone coverage in your home. Think of it as having a cell phone tower indoors.
T-Mobile has rolled out a new service called Hotspot at Home. Using special handsets, the new service routes your cellular calls over your home Wi-Fi wireless, wideband Internet network.
It’s a new technique best described as GSM-over IP where phone calls are sent over the Internet to T-Mobile servers where the call is placed into their system. The technology involved is remotely related to VoIP, which is non-cellular phone calls routed over the Internet.
When you get your phone home, the first step is to link it to your WI-Fi router. Both phones guide you through an easy-to-follow tutorial. I was able to follow along and link the phones to a number of different routers. Some required security codes – others didn’t. Total set-up time was two to three minutes.
I was never aware whether I was using a cellular network connection or Wi-Fi. And, it didn’t matter. It switched between wireless protocols seamlessly.
One benefit, which I didn’t expect, was that calls made over Wi-Fi actually sounded clearer than those made using the cellular network. I wasn’t expecting that to be the case because in my neighborhood T-Mobile calls made outdoors sound pretty good.
If you don’t have a Wi-Fi router – never fear. T-Mobile has two routers, a D-Link and a Linksys you can purchase. There’s a big benefit to using a T-Mobile router – cellular battery life. These specially designed routers prioritize cellular calls as being the most important. That relieves some of those tasks from having to be handled by your cellular handset. T-Mobile claims this will provide you with two-to- three times more battery life than if you use a standard Wi-Fi router.
You can opt to have your WI-Fi calls be charged against your monthly allotment of cellular minutes. Or, you can pay an additional $9.95 per month ($19.99 on a FamilyTime plan) which includes any and all domestic WI-Fi calls that you make. That means for 10 bucks a month your cell phone will work inside your home and all the Wi-Fi calls you make are included.
As for the hardware, the new phones are $50 each and the router sells for $50. If you opt for the $9.95 monthly plan, you also get a $50 rebate on the router.
Aside from the Wi-Fi calling feature, the two handsets that T-Mobile initially is offering are very basic. But, they were designed that way for a reason. Cell phone buyers prefer flip phones, which cost less than 50 bucks. If, like me, you prefer smartphones, T-Mobile hears you. Expect an announcement or two in a few months.
The hype over the iPhone certainly drowned out T-Mobile’s launch of HotSpot at Home, which was too bad. T-Mobile’s new service is a revolutionary in its scope. Over the next few months, expect to see other cellular providers trying to catch up.
