T-Mobile @Home Service Puts Down Roots In Seattle
Tuesday, October 24th, 2006
After some sporadic test marketing, T-Mobile’s UMA service, known as T-Mobile @Home is being rolled out in T-Mobile’s Seattle area stores.
UMA stands for Universal Mobile Access. What it is, is a hybrid wireless service combining cellular and WiFi. When you’re running around you access the cellular network, but when you’re at home, or near a T-Mobile WiFi Hotspot, your phone will go WiFi and save you some minutes. And probably get you a clearer signal.
Yes, you need special handsets - like the Nokia 6136 or the Samsung T709. T-Mobile is selling each for $50 with a 2 year deal. The @Home service is an extra $20 a month for unlimited WiFi calling, on top of whatever cellular minutes you have in your T-Mobile plan.
It’s logical first step for T-Mo, since it has all those Hotspots in all those Starbucks locations in Seattle. Whether this new offering lives up to the title of its website, http://www.theonlyphoneyouneed.com/, remains to be seen.
[via New York Times, Phone Scoop]
For years cellular industry watchers have loved to speculate about what’s up with T-Mobile. When competitor Sprint merged with Nextel and Cingular swallowed up AT&T Wireless, some thought T-Mobile would be next - that its parent company Deutsche Telecom wasn’t willing to make the investments necessary to compete with Verizon Wireless, Cingular and Sprint Nextel.
T-Mobile USA has kicked off a unique beta test, using phones that are half cellular, half WiFi. The so-called UMA service is being tried by handfuls of customers in Oregon and Washington state. Here’s how it works: The T-Mobile volunteers receive Samsung T709 WiFi/GSM cellular phones, and broadband routers. When customers come home, they use their cell phones to place calls but the calls are routed via a WiFi connection. Instead of paying a per minute charge for the WiFi calls, T-Mobile charges a flat rate (reportedly $5 a month) for unlimited WiFi calling.