T-Mobile AtHome Puts Landlines on Broadband

T-Mobile is set to take its AtHome service nationwide, enabling users to plug make calls over their broadband connections using landline phones for $10 a month.

T-Mobile is getting set to take its TMobile AtHome broadband-based calling service nationwide beginning July 2, enabling users to connect their traditional landline phones to their broadband Internet connections and make unlimited nationwide calls for as little as $10 a month—in addition to existing T-Mobile charges, which start at $40 a month. The service works by connecting a T-Mobile HiPort router (made by LinkSys) into a customer’s existing broadband Internet connection; users can then connect standard telephone equipment to the router.

T-Mobile is aiming the service at phone users who are reluctant to give up their traditional landlines even as they become more reliant on mobile services and Internet-based calling. However, the move is interesting because, in the U.S., T-Mobile is a mobile-only provider (even though its parent company, Deutsche Telecom, is a landline operator in Germany). Unlike competitors AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile hasn’t been able to offer landline service with its mobile phones: now, T-Mobile has a package that can appeal both to mobile users and folks who want traditional landline service at home—and T-Mobile doesn’t even have to operate a landline business to do it.

The service will also be compatible with T-Mobile’s existing HotSpot@Home service, which uses an in-house Wi-Fi router to handle calls from Wi-Fi equipped T-Mobile phones when in range, and the T-Mobile’s cellular network when users are out and about. That way, customers can use their cell phones at home without cutting into their mobile minutes, or dealing with often-dicey interior cell phone reception.

T-Mobile has been testing the service in the Seattle and Dallas areas since earlier this year; the service is scheduled to be available nationwide July 2.