T-Mobile HotSpot @Home helps people stay connected by combining the power of Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) and T-Mobile's nationwide voice and data network. While at home, customers can enjoy great mobile coverage and unlimited domestic calling over Wi-Fi; while mobile, customers also can get the same benefits at all the nearly 8,500 T-Mobile HotSpot locations across the country. In addition, unlike with VoIP calling, when T-Mobile HotSpot @Home customers leave home or exit a T-Mobile HotSpot, their calls will seamlessly transfer onto T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless network, giving people the freedom to continue their important conversations uninterrupted as they go about their day. Calls also transfer from T-Mobile's network onto Wi-Fi.
"More people than ever are looking to drop their home landline phone and pocket the savings. However, they don't want to use all their wireless minutes talking from home. Our new service solves this dilemma once and for all," said Robert Dotson, president and CEO, T-Mobile USA. "T-Mobile HotSpot @Home is a first-of-its-kind service that helps people simplify their lives, save money, and enjoy great call quality on one device - their mobile phone - at home."
Key components of the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service include new mobile phones designed to seamlessly connect the user to a home Wi-Fi connection or T-Mobile HotSpot. T-Mobile today is introducing two HotSpot phones -- the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086.
Americans are increasingly dropping their traditional landline phone service and switching to mobile phone use. According to Gartner, over 10 percent of respondents to a survey indicated they used their mobile phone as their only phone -- a trend that's even more pronounced among people aged 18-34, where almost 30 percent use their mobile phone as their only phone.3
"We see a clear trend toward mobile phones displacing landline phones especially with younger consumers," said Tole Hart, an analyst at Gartner Group. "The most common barriers to cutting the cord to date have been the reliability of their mobile phone in the home and the cost of buying additional minutes."
