T-Mobile is giving everyone a free cell tower

Bron: money.cnn.com/2015/11/02/technology/tmobile-cell-tower/index.html
nov. 2015

T-Mobile wants to obliterate any notion that its coverage is inferior to the competition.
The cellphone carrier announced Monday that all T-Mobile customers with a ''Simple Choice'' plan can now receive a free mini cell tower for their home. The 8.5-inch square gadget blasts out T-Mobile's 4G-LTE network to a 3,000-square-foot radius.

T-Mobile has done this kind of thing before. It previously gave out free Wi-Fi routers that allowed customers to make calls and texts over their home Wi-Fi networks.
What T-Mobile announced Monday is different: The mini tower (T-Mobile is calling it a CellSpot), lets customers connect to T-Mobile's cellular network -- not Wi-Fi. That means in places where they received one or no ''bars'' of service, they'll now get a full, speedy connection.

Other carriers have similar offerings, but they cost hundreds of dollars. T-Mobile is giving them away for free (OK, for a $25 refundable deposit).

''The big difference between us and the carriers is that they'll do absolutely everything they can to bleed you dry,'' said John Legere, T-Mobile's CEO, in a statement.
''We'll do absolutely everything we can and use every proven technology available to give you the best coverage possible.''

T-Mobile (TMUS) says that 50% of cellphone customers -- of any network -- complain that they drop calls at home. Basements, garages and pre-war apartment buildings all suffer from lousy cell signals. So there's an obvious need to address the indoor coverage gap.

The CellSpot, manufactured by Alcatel-Lucent, hooks up to your home router. Using your Internet connection as backhaul, it broadcasts T-Mobile's 3G, 4G and 4G-voice networks to up to 16 connected devices. That's a first -- some other carriers offer just 3G, and most connect just four phones.

Legere called the CellSpot ''a huge feat of engineering.''

The company said that it has handed out a million of its old Wi-Fi CellSpots, which it considers to be very strong adoption (it has more than 50 million customers).

Giving the CellSpots out for free instead of charging a couple hundred bucks is a way for the company to keep customers and add new ones.

By addressing a common issue and presenting a solution for free, T-Mobile said it's hoping to turn a few heads and get people to consider switching.

Add this to the long list of other ''Uncarrier'' benefits that T-Mobile offers, including free international roaming, music that doesn't count against your data plan, free texting from airplanes, and no overage charges.

Related: AT&T turns on Wi-Fi calling for iPhone customers
money.cnn.com/2015/10/08/technology/att-wifi-calling/index.html?iid=EL

Related: Verizon to charge $20 extra for unlimited plans
money.cnn.com/2015/10/08/technology/verizon-unlimited-plan-increase/index.html?iid=EL

Als je niet ziek wordt van zendmasten in de buurt, of van WiFi en DECT van de buren, kun je altijd een T-mobile zendmast in je eigen huis installeren, en dat geheel gratis.



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