T-Mobile @Home offers $10 per month unlimited VOIP
- June 25th, 2008
- 13 Comments
Starting July 2nd, existing T-Mobile customers will be able to add unlimited VOIP home phone service for $10 extra per month, plus a one-time outlay of $50 for a T-Mobile-branded Linksys wireless router with built-in VOIP functionality. The router has two SIM card slots inside and, as such, can handle two separate phone numbers.
You’ll get an additional number on top of your current cell phone number or you can port your existing landline number over if you have one. The offer is available for individual mobile plans running $39.99 and up per month or family plans over $49.99 per month. The VOIP service requires a broadband connection and includes unlimited local and nationwide calling, voicemail, call waiting, and caller ID.
I’ve been testing the service for the past couple of weeks and I’ve been very impressed. The setup was dead simple and the call quality has been outstanding. I’ve had Vonage, SunRocket, and Lingo in the past and there have always been occasional hiccups and audio dropouts here and there but this is the first service I’ve used that’s actually been mostly transparent. I had the whole system up and running in about 15 minutes and haven’t touched it since, which is a good sign.
If I were a T-Mobile customer, I’d absolutely add this to my account for $10 per month. It’s a no-brainer unless you’re on an unlimited mobile plan. And if you’re on a plan with a ton of minutes that you don’t end up using each month, you could even drop down to a cheaper calling plan and then add the @Home service to make up for the difference in minutes.
The service has been available in Seattle and Dallas for a while now but will be available nationwide on July 2nd. It’ll be interesting to see how (or if) other carriers react with similar offerings. The pricing is really aggressive for something like this so I wouldn’t be surprised to see current and new customers adding it to their accounts.
HotSpot @Home [T-Mobile.com]
Aaron Myers (Who am I?)
2 months ago
So, this will connect with my home phones and work like that, just making sure I understand. If so, sign me up.
alucardi (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Very Nice option! I’ve been waiting for sometime since they launch the test in Dallas and Seattle.
Now my RBOC (ATT Local, ne PacBell) will be gone. I will be savings money and no need for Vonage. Me happy!
KK (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Why does it need sim cards when it is voip?
Alvin C (Who am I?)
2 weeks ago
To secure a telephone number.
Ari (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Can it deal with FAX transmition ?
tone (Who am I?)
2 months ago
No Fax because it’s thru Digital like VOIP.
The SIM card slots are for each Home Phone line(number).
International calls will use Tmobile Cell Phone Rate unless you use Calling Cards.
Supposedly, the $10 will include Data(ISP).
Only problem is that the TMobile@Home 2-year service contract will prolong your Tmobile Cellphone Contract since this will be under Tmobile Cell Phone Plan.
Great for people who want to renew their 2 year Tmobile Cell phone contract or just getting into Tmobile.
The “9-1-1 service may not be available or reliable and your ability to receive emergency services may be impeded.”
tone (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Data(ISP) probably not very fast compare to DSL or Cable.
This would probably compete with the VOIP services out there. Definitely worth a try.
cgl (Who am I?)
2 months ago
^^Fax transmission should work on this no matter that this is VOIP. I have Vonage which is VOIP and am able to send and receive faxes. But I’m not sure how the sim cards might affect the fax line.
rjerryc (Who am I?)
1 month ago
I spoke with a T-Mobile rep about this. They have the info ready to go! No fax at this time but they expect it to be ready within 12 months. Boo hoo to those who really need a dedicated fax and not internet fax. Internet fax works fine for me.
911 service will work fine as long as your internet connection is alive and well. Otherwise, use your T-Mobile cell since you have to have that service to get this one! T-Mobile will require that you register your address with e911 to get this service so the 911 will work with the service.
$10 bucks a month - what’s not to love. Have you noticed the numbers of Vonage ads on TV the last couple weeks? They are worried - they are pushing $9.95 a month with “for the first 3 months” in fine print.
I’ll be at T-Mobile’s door when they open in the morning! I currently pay $25 a month (but that includes taxes and fees that will also be added by T-Mobile)for the bare minimum Qwest plan. No caller ID,call forwarding, voice mail, etc.
rrp (Who am I?)
1 month ago
vonage for all people with out t mobile is just $24.99 a month no catch 24/7 to all your phones to anywhere in the usa as many calls as u like,and hooks up to yourhome computer,just also know tax makes it $30 and change.
Kelly (Who am I?)
1 month ago
I’ve been beta testing this product in Seattle for about two months now, and it is NOT ready for prime time. There is a laundry list of problems with this service. Primary among them is the setup, which will not work properly out of the box for anyone running more than one computer. The installation cd and poster actually contradict each other, and the installer will cause T-mobile’s Linksys brand router to automatically turn off any existing wireless connections you may have on your PCs (Macs block the installer). Repeated calls to T-mobile proved to be all but futile. Five hours (yes five!) of tech support calls finally saw me reach a tech who understood and could fix the problem. You have to go through a rather cryptic pc-only Linksys software dialog to be able to fix this problem. The thing is, four of T-mobile’s techs told me that the problem was my network, not their equipment or software. The fifth tech proved them all to be wrong. Do you have five hours to waste with T-mobile?
It gets worse from there.
The service has never worked quite right, with people complaining that they can’t hear me clearly. The Linksys router light blinks nonstop, calls get inexplicably dropped. I’ve spent another five hours trying to talk with tech support, but every single time I have called, T-mobile says the connection is poor, and they can’t hear. They offer to call back, but they never do call back.
Save your time and money. Keep your land line or cell plan. One day, perhaps T-mobile will get their VOIP service dialed in, but that time has not yet arrived. Give them a few years. Maybe they’ll figure it out.
Teresa (Who am I?)
1 month ago
I am not electronic savvy - I currently have T-Mobile and am very happy with their cell service. Will this new Home thing work with my Dish network, so I can order pay per view movies through the tv via the Dish receiver? Also we have one regular pc and 3 lap tops - will that bother our wireless connection through Verizon DSL?
Kevin (Who am I?)
6 days ago
Teresa, The T-Mobile router which you would need to buy for 50 bucks up front replaces your old wireless router, so you won’t have any 802.11g problems, your wireless devices should sink perfectly. As for dish network, I’m not sure, but I think it would be OK, as I’m a cable customer.