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AT&T Gets FCC Waiver to Offer Wi-Fi Calling

Last week AT&T raised a bit of a stink, complaining that both Sprint and T-Mobile were technically violating FCC rules by offering Wi-Fi calling without FCC approval. AT&T, meanwhile, stated that plans to launch its own Wi-Fi calling service were delayed by the fact FCC regulations require they ensure all such services include support options for deaf and hard-of-hearing people (aka TTY rules).

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"This past Friday, September 25, was the date on which AT&T intended to introduce Wi-Fi calling services in competition with other competitors in the market, namely T-Mobile and Sprint," AT&T complained in an FCC filing (pdf).

But, despite the fact that T-Mobile and Sprint had been offering Wi-Fi calling services for roughly a year, "neither of those carriers has approached the FCC to request a waiver of the TTY rules," complained AT&T.

The FCC apparently heard AT&T loud and clear, and has now granted AT&T's request, noting that the waiver expires December 31, 2017 -- or whenever AT&T manages to successfully integrate options for the hard of hearing. That of course means that AT&T's Wi-Fi calling option -- however it's priced and packaged -- should be showing up shortly.
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA

LowRider

Member

Hmm

Wonder how much this add on will cost.... I bet they find a way to charge for it.

weaseled386
join:2008-04-13
Edgewater, FL

weaseled386

Member

Re: Hmm

said by LowRider:

Wonder how much this add on will cost.... I bet they find a way to charge for it.

I'm not familiar with how other carriers price out their plans. Does T-Mobile or Sprint charge extra for it?

karpodiem
Hail to The Victors
Premium Member
join:2008-05-20
Troy, MI

2 recommendations

karpodiem

Premium Member

Re: Hmm

said by weaseled386:

said by LowRider:

Wonder how much this add on will cost.... I bet they find a way to charge for it.

I'm not familiar with how other carriers price out their plans. Does T-Mobile or Sprint charge extra for it?

no.

cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL

cb14

Member

Re: Hmm

I actually stopped using it. It might be great for people who do not have a good signal in their location or a data only plan, but I had some issues with it

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
Premium Member
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH

1 recommendation

Vchat20

Premium Member

Re: Hmm

On T-Mobile I use mine even though I have a good signal. The only two relatively minor issues I have are a) MMS messages through hangouts do not work as it will only send over the network and not Wifi and b) Since it goes over your internet connection it is at the mercy of network traffic but only if your connection is really getting hammered.

To be honest there's a number of extra benefits: Much clearer call quality, battery life is actually improved at least on my phone as the cellular modem is disabled when there's a solid wifi calling connection. And SMS still goes over that connection just fine.

I am curious what issues you have had?

cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL

1 recommendation

cb14

Member

Re: Hmm

Additionally to what you mentioned the failover forwarding did not work plus there was something else I cannot recall. The other thing was the strength and quality of the WiFi signal when I moved around the place.
Battery life is not an issue, as long as I do not use internet it lasts like for a week, a huge battery.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

1 edit

amarryat to Vchat20

Member

to Vchat20

Hmm

said by Vchat20:

MMS messages through hangouts do not work

NOT true. They work either way.
said by Vchat20:

Much clearer call quality

The call quality is identical to that of when you place a call over LTE. Supposedly anyway.

I agree that because of the wifi signal, it can be sketchy at times depending on where you go in the house. But that has been fixed if you have a new phone and have an LTE signal.

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
Premium Member
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH

Vchat20

Premium Member

Re: Hmm

said by amarryat:

said by Vchat20:

MMS messages through hangouts do not work

NOT true. They work either way.
said by Vchat20:

Much clearer call quality

The call quality is identical to that of when you place a call over LTE. Supposedly anyway.

I agree that because of the wifi signal, it can be sketchy at times depending on where you go in the house. But that has been fixed if you have a new phone and have an LTE signal.

It should be noted that my personal experience is on a G2 and while it does have LTE, it does not have VoLTE enabled as of yet. So any cellular voice is the old standard. Given this, call quality is definitely much clearer over Wifi than cellular. Funny enough I did do an early test calling my mom on Sprint and there was even a noticeable improvement on voice delay using Wifi.

Call handoffs unfortunately do not work going from Wifi to cellular. Not sure about cellular to Wifi but I'd hope the phone is smart enough to maintain cell service to continue the call. Haven't tested this myself. But from some things I have read this is supposed to be completely sorted out with VoLTE and should have fairly painless handoffs.

I strictly use hangouts for my messaging. SMS works beautifully over wifi calling. However MMS never has. For clarification MMS uses data. Most providers will usually restrict access to the MMS servers to cellular connections only. I do not know if that is the case with T-Mobile or not or if it is a hangouts thing. Or may even be an APN issue. All I know is reliably on Wifi I can't send/receive MMS messages but the moment cellular connectivity is available it will go through.

lhvetinari
yaW gnorW
join:2008-09-26
Kenosha/Chgo

lhvetinari to Vchat20

Member

to Vchat20

Re: Hmm

I haven't used Wifi calling since about 2010 on t-mobile, but the primary issue for me was handoff/switchover - you would walk out the door and when the wifi dropped, there was no provision to switch to cell towers. Is that still an issue?

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Re: Hmm

When republic wireless was in beta stage, I use to have the same issue. Once I drove off from the house, the call would drop. But after they switched over to the MOTO phones and did a software update, it would hand off w/o dropping calls. I did notice it didn't switch to WiFi from CDMA till the call was over. Maybe at the time, it was a one way handoff during a call. Wife uses phone now and she hasn't complained. Gotta wonder if Google's system works just as well since it's jumping between WiFI/CDMA/GSM connections.

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA
(Software) pfSense
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-PRO

1 edit

Cjaiceman to lhvetinari

MVM

to lhvetinari
Yes, T-Mobile and AT&T both are able to hand off Wi-Fi calls into VoLTE environments, and VoLTE calls can be handed over to Wi-Fi as well. Sprint is not able to because they do not have VoLTE.

T-Mobile has VoLTE on their entire LTE network, AT&T only has it in "HD Calling" areas, so even though you might have LTE, it may not support VoLTE yet.

T-Mobile Uncarrier 7 announcement about Wi-Fi calling:

»youtu.be/MSsF8u5DNqU?t=30m26s


T-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling: »www.t-mobile.com/offer/w ··· ers.html

AT&T Wi-Fi Calling: »www.att.com/shop/wireles ··· ing.html
hchen42
join:1999-12-23
New York, NY

hchen42 to LowRider

Member

to LowRider
said by LowRider:

Wonder how much this add on will cost.... I bet they find a way to charge for it.

I doubt they'll charge for this. This should be more or less a software update. Once wifi calling is on, this should reduce load on their towers.
kaila
join:2000-10-11
Lincolnshire, IL

1 recommendation

kaila

Member

Re: Hmm

Well, they did monetize their femtocell product, a cell based (HSPA) device which then connected to your home network to push calls through. I still have one in my house how. Before AY&T went with unlimited voice, you had to pay $20 to have femtocell calls not consume your minutes. That and they turned the box itself into a profit center, charging $200 for what was estimated to cost them $50.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Hmm

Didn't the femtocell product include hardware? This does not.
mmay149q
Premium Member
join:2009-03-05
Dallas, TX

mmay149q to hchen42

Premium Member

to hchen42
said by hchen42:

said by LowRider:

Wonder how much this add on will cost.... I bet they find a way to charge for it.

I doubt they'll charge for this. This should be more or less a software update. Once wifi calling is on, this should reduce load on their towers.

So another words I should be getting a discount for helping out AT&T right? Oh wait no that's right, I'll get charged more when my cell phone uses enough data to push me over my AT&T home data package cap....

Don't get my wrong, I agree with WiFi Calling as I have issues in my house with talking to people on the phone and have to go outside, I'll all for it, but the thing is, now that all these companies have caps and etc, they're all willing to throw all your data through your home WiFi where they can run you over the limit, and then charge you more for more data that you used...

My thing on all this is simple, either offer only a 1TB cap at the lowest, or go back to unlimited, (even though I have unlimited already) then and ONLY then will I think about seriously moving stuff through my home network, and if I have both Company X for cell and internet service, and your cell service pushes me over that limit, I'm not paying you on the internet front for using your other service I'm paying you for....
mist668
join:2011-02-15
Middleburg, PA

mist668

Member

Re: Hmm

Two problems with your gripe.

1. Turn it off and back to the way it was
2. Data for audio codecs is so small if you go over your data you got other problems.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Re: Hmm

There use to be a time when you could put your phone in roaming mode, now you can't. How long do you think it will be before you can't switch off the voice wifi calling. Read some posts where people on google Fi project turn off their wifi only to see it turn back on automatically when if finds a wifi connection.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

1 recommendation

battleop to mmay149q

Member

to mmay149q
If this is going to push your cap over the limit you need to get off the phone and go see the world.
mmay149q
Premium Member
join:2009-03-05
Dallas, TX

1 recommendation

mmay149q

Premium Member

Re: Hmm

said by battleop:

If this is going to push your cap over the limit you need to get off the phone and go see the world.

It's not my phone that will do most of my data, but for normal non-tech people who don't know about this, or don't know that it's even happening I could see them getting close to their cap and then accidentally running over it with the cell phone, that's what my questions were aimed at, I won't buy a limited data package internet plan, so since my cell phone has unlimited if my ISP starts capping, then I'll be cancelling and using my 4G......

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat

Member

Re: Hmm

said by mmay149q:

getting close to their cap and then accidentally running over it with the cell phone

I can't imagine them counting talking data as part of your data. That should be whitelisted. It doesn't count with T-Mobile, and if AT&T counts it, I'm sure you'll see an ad on TV about that.
mmay149q
Premium Member
join:2009-03-05
Dallas, TX

mmay149q

Premium Member

Re: Hmm

said by amarryat:

said by mmay149q:

getting close to their cap and then accidentally running over it with the cell phone

I can't imagine them counting talking data as part of your data. That should be whitelisted. It doesn't count with T-Mobile, and if AT&T counts it, I'm sure you'll see an ad on TV about that.

Yeah I understand what you mean, but as someone who worked for AT&T for 3 years, I wouldn't put it past them to try and sneak this shit in there somewhere, I mean come on, it's AT&T we're talking about here...

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg to hchen42

Member

to hchen42
Activated 2 iPhone 6s' this week. Both times, employee care said that "Sprint has a new feature, WiFi Calling" and if I wanted it turned on. Sure but it's not automatic, guess for now, they have to "provision" your account to have it, along with the FREE international data/text plan (calls still cost .20 a minute unless your using wifi). You also still needed to go into the phone and turn it on. I'm sure down the road, it will be a feature you can't turn on/off. Just like back in the day, you use to be able to FORCE your phone to roam (Palm Treo 650 was the last phone I had that you could do this). They hope this will stop those of us with crappy home service to offload to wifi.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat

Member

waaaa waaaa waaaa boo hoo

"despite the fact that T-Mobile and Sprint had been offering Wi-Fi calling services for roughly a year"

A lot longer than that for T-Mobile. I switched to T-Mobile over 2 years ago and had it then. And I know they had it long before that.

weaseled386
join:2008-04-13
Edgewater, FL

1 recommendation

weaseled386

Member

Re: waaaa waaaa waaaa boo hoo

said by amarryat:

A lot longer than that for T-Mobile. I switched to T-Mobile over 2 years ago and had it then. And I know they had it long before that.

Didn't they offload calls to your home wifi by offering WRT54G's with custom firmware back in like 2006??

quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium Member
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI

1 recommendation

quetwo

Premium Member

Re: waaaa waaaa waaaa boo hoo

You didn't even the custom router. If you had certain models of BlackBerry or WinCE devices, they did WiFi calling starting in 2005. I've been using it since, with the exception of when I was using a Google Nexus S for about 6 months (it didn't support it because it didn't have the software loaded on it from the carrier).

lhvetinari
yaW gnorW
join:2008-09-26
Kenosha/Chgo

lhvetinari

Member

Re: waaaa waaaa waaaa boo hoo

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I had a blackberry back in late 08/early 09 that supported it. Worked fairly well.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

1 recommendation

tc1uscg to amarryat

Member

to amarryat
Funny thing is, there are APPS that allow this. One big name is, there's an app for magic jack that will offload calls to wifi. Google Voice, there are a few apps for that too. I know it's not the SAME as TMobile or Republic wireless but just the same, where has AT&T been?

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat

Member

Re: waaaa waaaa waaaa boo hoo

The apps aren't as good though for several reasons.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Re: waaaa waaaa waaaa boo hoo

I don't know.. My Magic jack app worked pretty good. So did Viber. Son used it while he was down in Costa Rica for a week. The MJ app was better though as I had 2 MJ numbers so calling him from the home phone instead of my cell sounded fine. But in the end, the call experience is only going to be as good as your WiFi connection and the network it uses.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

-2 recommendations

tshirt

Premium Member

Wi-fi calling for free is nothing, how about...

...Wi-Fi data? is that free too? at least from your home and other FREE WLAN's
Also need to have an app for those that offer use of their WLAN's to get micro payments for any costs they pay.

cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL

cb14

Member

Re: Wi-fi calling for free is nothing, how about...

Wi-Fi data are free indeed( at least with TMUS) and I use it a lot.

••••
SpectrumDude
join:2002-04-14
Kernersville, NC

SpectrumDude

Member

Had it during the Beta

I tested wifi calling for Apple during the iOS9 beta and was able use wifi calling, When the wide release for iOS9 rolled out I was able to keep wifi calling enabled, Im still using it to this day. No charge for me but who knows how the money hungry folks at ATT will play this one.

weaseled386
join:2008-04-13
Edgewater, FL

weaseled386

Member

Re: Had it during the Beta

said by SpectrumDude:

I tested wifi calling for Apple during the iOS9 beta and was able use wifi calling, When the wide release for iOS9 rolled out I was able to keep wifi calling enabled, Im still using it to this day. No charge for me but who knows how the money hungry folks at ATT will play this one.

That was part of the deal... those who beta tested it kept it. When I try to enable it (iOS 9.1 beta 4) it says "Wifi calling is not yet available. It will be coming soon."
InvalidError
join:2008-02-03

-1 recommendation

InvalidError

Member

Shouldn't TTY be obsolete by now?

For those who aren't blind on top of being deaf/mute, simply give them a tablet or smartphone with SMS/MMS service. For the rest, braille should also work quite well with modern text-based messaging, just needs a few adaptations.

There are just so many far more efficient alternatives today, many of which also more convenient.

••••••••

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

adapter

Couldnt they just have a bluetooth device , that bridges this gap ?
jeslevine7
join:2006-01-19
San Jose, CA

jeslevine7

Member

They aren't going to charge extra for voice over WIFI. They don't charge

for data over WIFI, and they are not going to charge extra for voice over WIFI either.

JimThePCGuy
Formerly known as schja01.
MVM
join:2000-04-27
Morton Grove, IL

JimThePCGuy

MVM

Does not count against your Data Cap

You can even use WiFi calling in Airplane Mode as long as WiFi is enabled (obviously).
In Airplane mode the cellular radio is OFF.
WiFi calling does not need the cellular radio or Bluetooth.
At least that's how it works on Sprint.

HarleyYac
Lee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ

HarleyYac

Premium Member

ATT WI FI Calling live In Bergen Cty

Or at least in my neck of the woods. Will test "Hand Off" later

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

I now have Wi-Fi calling

I now have Wi-Fi calling through Xfinity Voice. It's through the Xfinity Connect app.

I just wished I could port my OOMA number over but they wouldn't let me.