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T-Mobile Uncarrier 7.0: Wi-Fi Calling & Texting, Free GoGo SMS

T-Mobile has announced that as part of their "uncarrier 7.0" announcement, they'll be expanding the company's Wi-Fi calling initiative, offering a program called "Wi-Fi Unleashed" to nudge more users toward the feature. According to a T-Mobile announcement, the company is enabling Wi-Fi calling and texting for every Simple Choice customer on every new smartphone sold by the company.

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As part of the initiative T-Mobile also unveiled a T-Mobile Personal CellSpot they'll be giving away free to some users (it appears to be an Asus-made, Dual-band, 1900 Mbps wireless AC router).

The "Wi-Fi Unleashed" push also involves a new partnership with in-flight broadband provider GoGo. According to T-Mobile, users with compatible phones will now be able to use unlimited SMS (including photos) when on a GoGo-enabled flight, even if you're not paying for traditional GoGo service. You can head here for a compatible list of phones.

"The difference between us and the traditional carriers is that they’ll do everything they can to make more money off you," states T-Mobile CEO John Legere in now-traditionally snarky fashion. "We’ll do everything we can to solve your problems, and today, that’s about uniting Wi-Fi with our data strong network for unprecedented coverage."


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IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

3 edits

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IPPlanMan

Member

Pushing the industry along...

T-Mobile's new WiFi base station is free with a $25 refundable deposit... and they're also allowing people to trade-in and upgrade to a new WiFi capable phone via JUMP.

"As part of the campaign, it will allow members who don't own a Wi-Fi calling-capable phone who are on the carrier's Jump upgrade program to immediately get a device, regardless of when they were supposed their upgrade. Customers who sign up for the Jump program can also immediately upgrade to a Wi-Fi calling-capable phone."
»www.cnet.com/news/t-mobi ··· calling/

Since it's WiFi, there's no caps or usage limits.

vs.

Verizon: Charges $249.99 for a Network Extender (»www.verizonwireless.com/ ··· cs-2u01/) which only supports 3G voice/data. Although you can use an LTE phone on it in 3G mode, it won't support VoLTE/WiFi calling. The big problem is that it doesn't boost your LTE coverage. Since it doesn't do WiFi, you need a separate router. Voice/Data usage counts against your plan.

AT&T: Charges $200.00 for its Microcell (»www.att.com/standalone/3 ··· crocell/ and »geekbeat.tv/review-att-3 ··· crocell/) which also only supports 3G voice/data. And like Verizon's you can use an LTE phone on it in 3G mode, but it won't support VoLTE/WiFi calling. As above, it doesn't boost your LTE coverage. Since it doesn't do WiFi, you need a separate router. Voice/Data usage counts against your plan.

Sprint: Charges $99.99 for its Airave unit (»shop.sprint.com/mysprint ··· 77200131), which also only supports 3G voice/data. Although you can use an LTE phone on it in 3G mode, it won't support VoLTE/WiFi calling. As above, it doesn't boost your LTE coverage. Since it doesn't do WiFi, you need a separate router. Voice/Data usage counts against your plan.

This is good for all of us... whether you're a T-Mobile customer or not.

EDITED TO ADD (9/12/2014): Per another DSLR user, Sprint does offer WiFi Calling: »support.sprint.com/suppo ··· f6a91f67
However, it only works on certain Android devices. iOS is not yet supported.