maziloFrom MaziloPremium
join:2002-05-30
Lilburn, GA
kudos:1 | reply to prestonlewis
Re: TMobile@Home Review said by prestonlewis:If you already have a TMobile account (minimum $40 as I understand it to be) this is a GREAT deal. What would the total price be if one doesn't have a TMobile account? Also, Is the $10/month definitive or are there any hidden fees, i.e. 911, universal funds, etc.? Lastly, I noticed you mentioned all local and long distance calls are free for the $10/month instead of unlimited. Does this mean you can call with no limits?
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| Wouldn't those fees already be part of your account? (though some fees are based on the account total and may increase incrementally if the account total increases)
Your first question doesn't make sense to me. Isn't @Home a feature you add to an existing account? so if you don't have one, then you can't add it? (I mean, I don't think they'd sell you something you can't actually use... but I could be wrong. Or, if you don't have an account, then they'd sure be happy  to open one for you.) |
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1 edit | reply to mazilo
said by mazilo:said by prestonlewis:If you already have a TMobile account (minimum $40 as I understand it to be) this is a GREAT deal. What would the total price be if one doesn't have a TMobile account? Also, Is the $10/month definitive or are there any hidden fees, i.e. 911, universal funds, etc.? Lastly, I noticed you mentioned all local and long distance calls are free for the $10/month instead of unlimited. Does this mean you can call with no limits? I'm no expert but from my understanding of this initial product offering:
1. You have to be an existing TMobile customer already on a cell phone plan costing at least $40 or so dollars/month. I do not think they are offering it as an independent product. Think about it, $10/month for unlimited local/long distance? They aren't going to make any money on that so I'd say they want you to have a cell plan to make their profits off of. Just my opinion.
2. Hidden fees: I'm not sure about that one. 911 works like a cell phone's 911 so if cell phones have hidden 911 fees, I'd expect the @Home router to also have the same fees. Same thing for USF fees. If your TMobile cell phone has it, I'd expect the @Home router to have it too. But I'm not certain. At $10, I doubt the fees are very much.
3. Calling limits: TMobile was very explicit that it was an unlimited calling product. I'm sure the fine print says something like many VOIP providers add to their TOS like "within normal residential usage", "not for business use" and the like but unlimited it is for normal household use.
As for fees, when I called TMobile yesterday to inquire about how to change my bank's autopay to them, the agent said she wasn't sure what the "taxes" were on the ten dollars and suggested I wait for the first bill. Obviously, this new product has questions we'll have to wait on. It's not for everyone but if you are already a T-Mobile customer, it's a cheap phone service.
4. Is it VOIP or cellular? It's VOIPish (actually UMA, right?). It does not connect to a local TMobile tower. It uses the internet to transfer data. I'll use my WireShark and see what server it's using: local or distant and report back.
5. Can you take the SIM card and use it in a phone? NO. Put your @Home SIM card in a phone and it's 40cents per minute, according the TMobile rep. Put a regular cell phone SIM card into the @Home router and it's 20 cents/minute.
6. Yes, the router has DMZ which would allow outsiders to see a server set to be the DMZ. Personally, I prefer port forwarding but to each his own. The @Home router works just like any other Linksys router, just with 2 phone ports. You really can't tell it has the phone features. The router itself is independent of Tmobile and will continue to work even if your voice service is shut off. TMobile only can control the SIM card for voice service. It has no ability to affect or change the router at all.
7. I replaced my old router which didn't handle VOIP very well. The @Home router doesn't seem to mind my Vonage and CallCentric ATAs at all. My 2 PAP2s and a generic ATA work perfectly fine behind the @Home router without any need to change settings in the router. The router has a firewall and is a REAL router, not like those Sipura/Linksys wannabees so I saw no need for double NAT.
8. "Sounds great, too bad T-Mo's coverage here stinks." Yes, since you have to have TMobile cell service, I guess it pretty much limits the @Home service to areas where TMobile has a decent presence. Even here in Sacramento TMobile is spotty. Great at home and in the Northern parts of the county, pretty bad (no signal at work) if you go into many parts below midtown Sacramento.
9. "3 Services": I tried the Hotspot@Home last year with a cell phone that could switch between cell and a router. Hated it. It certainly was not "seamless" as they claimed. So I was a bit doubtful when I tried this new @Home unlimited service but was relieved that it appears to work as promised.
10. "Why does it need a SIM card?" The SIM card holds the programming telling it it is a $10/month VOIP product since the router isn't programmable at all. Supposedly, if @Home is successful, they will improve the services/features of @Home and this will happen by programming the SIM card since the router is totally independent of TMobile and will function just fine without the @Home service. Just the two RJ11 jacks will be dead. |
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nycitynyPremium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY | One more question - is their a web interface through which some of the features can be used (i.e., checking voicemail online)? Or is it just a phone service that happens to go through your Internet connection with no other web functionality? |
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| reply to prestonlewis
Sounds pretty good (well, hopefully--voice quality... sound  ).
What with Verizon buying Alltel and more than likely killing U Prepaid, I was probably going to go with T-Mobile Prepaid (which had been my second choice at the time I went with U Prepaid), but with @Home I might want to go with one of the $39.99 "Fave" plans... will be interested in hearing how well it works (or doesn't work).
Thanks. |
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 AsterixPremium
join:2002-09-18
Nazareth, PA
kudos:3 | reply to prestonlewis
So the SIM card has a separate number? OR it has your cell phone number? If someone called you will both the home phone and your cell phone ring at the same time?
From what I see it looks like to be a new separate number not linked to the cell phone. Correct me if I am wrong here. |
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