T-Mobile has announced that they are ready to deploy their UMA service
dubbed HotSpot @Home as soon as mid-June of this year.
The carrier has been trialling the Wi-Fi/GSM service in the Seattle
area and will offer handsets from Samsung and Nokia as well as
a router with custom firmware for free with $50 rebate, although
interested customers will still be able to use their current router.
The service will cost an additional $20 per month with each additional
line being an additional $5 dollars with the possibility of adding an
analog phonejack for sharing the service throughout the entire home at
some point.
The service is intended to help customers save plan minutes and provide
additional coverage around the country by leveraging their HotSpot
network as well as improving indoor coverage for those customers that
have less than adequate service.
Trial users have stated that technological issues such as battery life
and handoffs have been improved considerably since launching the
service last year, though it remains to be seen whether the
improvements can lure customers that cite battery life as one of the
major criteria for purchasing a new phone.
