T-Mobile @Home $10 'Landline' Goes Nationwide A $50 WRTU54G and a dream... Wednesday Jun 25 2008 09:01 EDT In June of last year, T-Mobile introduced their Hotspot@Home UMA service, which lets users "seamlessly" (depending who you ask) transfer calls between their cellular network and Wi-Fi. Hotspot@Home costs T-Mobile users $19.99 per month for a single line (on top of your existing wireless plan), or $24.99 per month for up to five lines. The service comes with a branded D-Link or Linksys WRT54G for home use, while customers can also make calls via T-Mobile's Wi-Fi network of hotspots. T-Mobile then took a more drastic step by launching the " HotSpot @Home Talk Forever Home Phone" plan, which provides users with a $50 WRTU54G, allowing users to plug in a landline in order to get unlimited local and domestic calling for just $10. T-Mobile will transfer your number to their system, and they're also offering a $60 VTech wireless phone. The service was initially only offered in Dallas and Seattle, but as of July 2 will be available nationwide. Of course technically the "$10 phone service" tag isn't entirely accurate, given you need to have a broadband connection, a T-Mobile wireless plan of at least $40 per month and shell out $50 for a router (into which you put a SIM card). Still, the deal still remains pretty attractive, and will certainly accelerate baby bell landline losses. For those interested, T-Mobile CEO talks with the Seattle Times about the company's shift in direction. |
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Keep it comingWe need continued competition for the overpriced Bells. | |
| | jduffy Premium Member join:2006-08-20 Cincinnati, OH |
jduffy
Premium Member
2008-Jul-1 8:16 am
Re: Keep it comingsaid by fatmanskinny:We need continued competition for the overpriced Bells. Yes, but now more and more wireless companies are becoming overpriced wireless bells. Wireless is starting to nickel and dime people to death. | |
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R4M0NBrazilian Soccer Ownz Joo join:2000-10-04 Glen Allen, VA |
R4M0N
Member
2008-Jun-25 9:29 am
Am I missing something?That actually sounds like a good deal... Then again, I haven't really looked that deep. | |
| | gimme5 join:2002-12-23 Kissimmee, FL |
gimme5
Member
2008-Jun-25 9:44 am
Re: Am I missing something?I'm with you, I don't see what the problem is; it does seem like a great deal if you have T-Mobile.
The router is even reasonably priced! | |
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Consider This . . .The issue w/ this and all OTT VoIP services, however, is that the quality of voice service relies totally on the quality of the data connection . . . no data connection and you get no voice service . . . data connection flakes-out and so does your voice serivce.
That's why I dropped my OTT VoIP service and went back to landline . . . my data connection started dropping packets, which resulted in missed inbound calls and other wierd things. | |
| | | | IanR join:2001-03-22 Fort Mill, SC |
IanR
Member
2008-Jun-25 12:41 pm
Re: Consider This . . .The quality of your landline coive service is also dependent upon the quality of the copper line service. | |
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Re: Consider This . . .said by IanR:The quality of your landline coive service is also dependent upon the quality of the copper line service. My point wasn't about outside plant, specifically, but about quality of ISP service (which OSP a part of). But, now if my ISP (vz.net) drops a packet or two, I'm none-the-wiser except for maybe an ever-so-slightly slower web page download. And my voice line is not impacted, that's still rock-solid. | |
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| | ReVeLaTeD Premium Member join:2001-11-10 San Diego, CA 1 edit |
to gimme5
Re: Am I missing something?I'm a T-mobile customer. Here are some of the challenges I have with this.
Why limit to only those exceeding $40 on their monthly mobile plan? I do, but still. Why can't it be "every postpaid T-mobile customer is eligible"? Or even better yet, why not just implement a plan that allows you to swap your SIM card over to the router and use your existing plan to make calls using the device at no additional charge, as an alternative option? And then on top of that, they charge for a router? Why not offset the router charge by simply allowing it to bill to the existing T-mobile account?
I dunno. I like the $10/month, don't like all the other stuff. If it were straight $10/month with a free or otherwise transparent-expensed router, I would be all over it.
The other thing: I thought this used T-mobile's network to route the calls, though it was a "land line". If it just uses my internet, can someone help me understand why I shouldn't just use Skype? | |
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| PhoenixDownFIOS is Awesome Premium Member join:2003-06-08 Fresh Meadows, NY |
to R4M0N
If I were a t-mobile customer, I would seriously consider it. I pay a lot for a pots line I rarely if ever use. | |
| | | NY Tel Premium Member join:2004-04-09 Smithtown, NY |
NY Tel
Premium Member
2008-Jun-25 12:19 pm
Re: Am I missing something?What no Concession service from VZ? | |
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kapilThe Kapil join:2000-04-26 Chicago, IL |
kapil
Member
2008-Jun-25 9:45 am
Good Deal......if you must have a "land line".
However, you could just buy UMA handsets from T-Mo and get the Talk Forever Mobile package for $9.99 and gives up to 5 people on a family plan unlimited calling from ANY accessible hotspot, not just a cordless phone at home.
The 49.99 price for non-mobile customers seems a little off though. You'd have to be an idiot to for that for more than one reason. First, you could get a real POTS line for that much. Second, you could get a T-Mo mobile phone with 1000 minutes and then just add the home phone for $9.99 and still have it cost the same $49.99. | |
| | IanR join:2001-03-22 Fort Mill, SC |
IanR
Member
2008-Jun-25 12:56 pm
Re: Good Deal...I find the way T-Mobile presents this service is rather confusing and I struggle to understand the various permutations. At first read it appears one MUST use their router, then one finds that the UMA phones work equally well over ANY open WiFi service and if you know the say WEP etc. code over any encrypted service as well. I know TM says there router has better QoS but I just wonder... I must use the gray cells to find out how much a 2 person family plan would cost with this. | |
| | | kapilThe Kapil join:2000-04-26 Chicago, IL
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kapil
Member
2008-Jun-25 1:24 pm
Re: Good Deal...There are two different services. Hotspot@Home/TalkForever Mobile Tmobile@Home/Talk Forever The first one is the mobile version that gives you unlimited calling FROM UMA CAPABLE MOBILE HANDSETS. The add-on is $9.99. On an individual plan, that $9.99 covers the individual line. On a family plan the $9.99 covers all the lines on the family plan for one fee. This service used to be $9.99/ind and $19.99/fam when it was first introduced, then it was changed to 19.99/ind and 29.99/fam. Then it was changed back down to 9.99/ind and 9.99/line for each line on a family plan. But now they have finally settled on 9.99 for both individual and 9.99 per family plan (ie, one 9.99 fee covers all lines on a family plan) The second option has nothing to do with mobile phones at all. It's essentially a Vonage replacement. If you're a T-Mobile customer, you essentially "add a line" for $9.99 or if you're not a T-Mo mobile customer then you pay $49.99. Either way, you get unlimited calling from home just like with Vonage et al. If you already have 5 lines on a family plan, you cannot add the 9.99 home line because their billing system bills the 9.99 as it would for a mobile add-a-line...and family plans only allow a max of 5 lines. You can have both the mobile and home services for 9.99 each...but as i said in the original post...why would you want to? If you have UMA handsets and the unlimited add-on...unless you REALLY want to talk on a "home" phone, you already have unlimited wifi calling. You don't have to use the T-Mo router for the mobile UMA service...any accessible hotspot will do. For the Home service YOU DO NEED TO USE their router as the router essentially has a built in ATA, again like Vonage. The QoS claims are a bit dubious. I've used many routers with their service and the quality is pretty consistent...the QoS doesn't seem to make a difference. See...not confusing at all | |
| | | | IanR join:2001-03-22 Fort Mill, SC |
IanR
Member
2008-Jun-25 2:37 pm
Re: Good Deal...You have saved a few hours of my life. with that short. but very comprehensive description. Thanks
Seems to me that somebody at T-Mobile is a very innovative thinker. But whosoever is in charge of marekting/selling it lacks clarity as the T-Mobile website is very confusing on the options. | |
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Hehe
Anon
2008-Jun-25 10:37 am
Does a normal TOS allow this?Does a normal TOS allow this?
This sounds like reselling my bandwidth, or sort of. | |
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hhh555
Anon
2008-Jun-25 10:43 am
Re: Does a normal TOS allow this?I dont see why it would violate the TOS of your provider. You are just using your internet connection to send and recieve data.
I use it with my t-mobile service and it works great. | |
| | EPS4 join:2008-02-13 Hingham, MA |
EPS4 to Hehe
Member
2008-Jun-25 11:04 am
to Hehe
I think it would only be a problem if any T-Mobile customer was allowed to use your connection- as long as it's limited to just you I don't think it's an issue. | |
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Sounds good to meI am with T-Mobil and have a tower less than a half mile away, signal is always 100% we were thinking of dropping our lan line and just use our cell phones. This looks very good to me. I will be calling. Comcast calls me almost every day to get me to go with them on there phones but refuse just for the fact of how they do business in our area with HSI. | |
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Re: Sounds good to meI tried the hotspot@home product last year and wasn't very pleased with it. My cell/udma phone didn't "seamlessly" change and the internet calls were spotty. However, I'll give this new service a try. at&t won't fix the crackly horrible voice quality service in my 30 year old home (too expensive they say) and I've been using VOIP for some time now. For $10 more + the router, I'll give it a shot. I'm already a T-Mobile family plan user, live near a tower, get great reception, etc. If it works as promised, it's better than VOIP or landlines. | |
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Re: Sounds good to meDosent that become tripple play service if u have there cell phone service landline service and there internet service? | |
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tmh
Anon
2008-Jun-25 6:25 pm
More than one offeringThe HotSpot@Home unlimited service is now just $10. See » www.onlyphoneyouneed.com/No need to buy a new router. Something even more tantalizing, in the FAQ, you can apparently just use WiFi and your regular minutes if you don't want unlimited HotSpot calling. No indication of whether it still costs $10 however. | |
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anon21347637
Anon
2008-Jun-26 9:36 pm
Re: More than one offeringsaid by tmh :
Something even more tantalizing, in the FAQ, you can apparently just use WiFi and your regular minutes if you don't want unlimited HotSpot calling. No indication of whether it still costs $10 however. Yes, thats right. The $10 Hotspot@Home plan is only needed if you want unlimited minutes using your UMA phone via wifi. If you don't have the addon plan, you can still make wifi calls, and it will simply deduct from your bucket of minutes. | |
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maybeHere is one of the questions put to the chief executive.
"Q: Qwest is trying to deregulate land-line phone services. Are we all going to move to broadband phone services? (An aside: This makes me nervous, having experienced a lot of power outages when broadband went away but the old phone kept working.)" See, that is what I worry about down here in Florida. I went through Hurricane Wilma and lost everything (service wise) except the land line from Bellsouth. I would go to this service in a heartbeat but when the power goes out so does this service. | |
| scooby Premium Member join:2001-05-01 Schaumburg, IL |
scooby
Premium Member
2008-Jun-25 8:20 pm
More UMA phones neededThe current selection of UMA compatible phones is pretty pathetic. I really hope T-Mobile works on this. I am surprised other providers have not joined in. It is extremely rare that a person or family gets good signal all over the house/apt/condo. | |
| | fuziwuziNot born yesterday Premium Member join:2005-07-01 Palm Springs, CA Hitron EN2251 Nest H2D
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fuziwuzi
Premium Member
2008-Jun-26 12:09 pm
Re: More UMA phones neededsaid by scooby:The current selection of UMA compatible phones is pretty pathetic. I really hope T-Mobile works on this. I am surprised other providers have not joined in. It is extremely rare that a person or family gets good signal all over the house/apt/condo. I think it is odd that T-Mobile exclusively sells the Shadow (an HTC made Windows Mobile 6 phone) that has Wi-Fi ability, but they do not list it as being Hotspot@Home compatible. Evidently, the Shadow can use the Hotspot for web browsing but not for voice calls. Regardless, I like the Shadow (a friend has one and I've been impressed with it) and will be getting one and also the new Talk Forever router and plan. | |
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czar99
Member
2008-Jun-26 4:39 pm
Wireless phone with T-mobileHere is my question. I am a Verizon customer and I am out of contract so I am looking to be wooed by someone. I looked at T-mobile and my question is. The phones that will make calls via a hotspot or regular cell, do you have to pay extra for that service or is just if the phone does it, it happens? I am confused by the 10 dollar thing. I guess I should ask a rep but I like asking people who do not have a stake in my decision. Thanks. | |
| | ReVeLaTeD Premium Member join:2001-11-10 San Diego, CA |
Re: Wireless phone with T-mobilesaid by czar99:Here is my question. I am a Verizon customer and I am out of contract so I am looking to be wooed by someone. I looked at T-mobile and my question is. The phones that will make calls via a hotspot or regular cell, do you have to pay extra for that service or is just if the phone does it, it happens? I am confused by the 10 dollar thing. I guess I should ask a rep but I like asking people who do not have a stake in my decision. Thanks. Note, there are two services. Hotspot@Home is a mobile phone service that uses cell phones which support the technology, to make calls over any router. You need a specific plan. Hotspot@Home Talk Forever is essentially a VoIP service that gives you landline capabilities. This is the $10 monthly. One is for cell phones; the other is not. | |
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Got it todayWent to my local TMobile store and was the first buyer of the $10/month @Home Router by Linksys. Easy setup, typical Linksys layout (QOS, DMZ, port forwarding, DHCP, etc.) Had the thing up and running in minutes and the call quality is great. 4 100mbps LAN ports, 2 phone RJ11 jacks, room for 2 SIM cards (I only got one) and it is also a B/G/Mixed Speedbooster wireless router with what appears to be a 6dbi high gain antenna.
Only negative thing I've noticed is it doesn't have any settings for reserving LAN addresses to a particular MAC address. Otherwise, it's pretty darn good: both the Linksys wireless router and the voice quality. 7 digit dialing works great, no echoes. For $10/month for unlimited local/long distance calling, it's hard to beat. | |
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