T-Mobile announces 4G LTE tower inside a router, available for Simple Choice customers

By David Curry November 2, 2015

#UncarrierAmped - The @TMobile 4G LTE CellSpot

A week before T-Mobile’s Un-Carrier X event, the carrier has announced an update to its CellSpot, originally unveiled at the Un-Carrier 7.0 event. The new 4G LTE CellSpot offers 4G LTE Internet inside a home or office, where connection tends to be spotty.

The new 4G LTE CellSpot is a black box with various green lights on the side, similar to an ordinary router. T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere claims the previous CellSpot “was like a T-Mobile tower,” but says the new CellSpot “is a T-Mobile tower,” with the advanced networking technology required for businesses.

The 4G LTE CellSpot stretches for 3,000 square feet, making it perfect for business owners that want to provide wireless access to employees and customers. All the owner needs is an Internet connection and to be in range of T-Mobile spectrum.

Legere claims other carrier’s cell-router will only work with select devices and on select speeds, but T-Mobile’s 4G LTE CellSpot works on all supported devices. The router is capable of handling up to 16 calls and will work with 3G devices. All of T-Mobile’s carrier features will be usable on the 4G LTE CellSpot, including Wi-Fi Calling and Data Stash. The CellSpot is available for Simple Choice customers for $25 deposit, making it available for almost everyone on the T-Mobile network.

T-Mobile has made major advances in the last two years with its 4G LTE rollout, but its network is still spotty inside of buildings due to low amounts of low-band spectrum. The carrier plans to boost its spectrum in the 2016 auction across the U.S. to fix this problem.

This is a big announcement, but likely not as big as the Un-Carrier X event happening on November 10. Rumors claim that T-Mobile will announce a free video streaming package for Simple Choice customers, including Netflix, HBO Now, and other services for a discounted price.

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