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T-Mobile Now Offers Home Internet for $50 Per Month with No Data Cap

30 points by whitepoplar 7y ago

smachiz 7y ago
Hope they can Sprint's mid-band spectrum deployed quickly to deal with this influx of data.... at least until they have a viable millimeter wave plan. This is probably more viable in suburban, maybe sub suburban/rural areas until they can get millimeter wave going.
- joecool1029 7y ago
  > Hope they can Sprint's mid-band spectrum deployed quickly to deal with this influx of data They would need to complete the merger for that. As it stands in my region Sprint can roam on T-Mobile's mid-band spectrum (2/4), but not vice-versa (and low band 12/71 is disallowed). Millimeter wave isn't going to help suburban/rural areas. Already Band 41 (2500mhz) sprint LTE-TDD doesn't go through walls well, for home internet you're basically looking to have an external antenna.
  - smachiz 7y ago
    >Millimeter wave isn't going to help suburban/rural areas. Already Band 41 (2500mhz) sprint LTE-TDD doesn't go through walls well, for home internet you're basically looking to have an external antenna. Correct - I didn't say it would. What I said is it isn't viable to do in urban areas until they have millimeter wave.
eganist 7y ago
Aside from your home address, the field doesn't validate data input for practical correctness. This is important because t-mobile forces you to consent to marketing in order to find out availability, but you can still check for rough availability with garbage information (incl. an e.g. 1-nnn-555-nnnn number and a mailinator or equally disposable email address) and an address near you, ideally an address that's an empty lot or nonexistent/halfway between homes. It's also why I flagged the post -- t-mobile is seeking marketing opt-ins with this effort, and that's about it. A genuine lookup service wouldn't force opt-in consent in this manner.
- replytothederp 7y ago
  Uh you literally think the post should be flagged because of marketing preferences???? Call t-mobile instead perhaps? Is there rules against this ludicrous post flagging behavior?
luckydata 7y ago
Is it me or they try real hard not to disclose the connection speed?
- jf 7y ago
  I wasn’t able to find any indication of connection speed either
- joecool1029 7y ago
  > Is it me or they try real hard not to disclose the connection speed? It's not possible to disclose precise information without knowing spectrum holdings/configuration, installed tower equipment, distance from tower, and the current network conditions. The only thing they could disclose are things like throttling video, and give an approximation of what a market might expect typical speeds to be around.
  - luckydata 7y ago
    They could give a range.
- jonnismash 7y ago
  That's what I was digging for as well, as it's LTE based I can't imagine a consistent connection or a particularly fast connection.
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  It is not just you. Also, asking for contact information just to do a coverage check is very sketchy.
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  I did find this FAQ that discusses speed in very broad terms. https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/internet-service https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/polici...
  - joecool1029 7y ago
qsymmachus 7y ago
I was a T-Mobile subscriber twice, first in the mid aughts and then again about 6 years ago. Both times their network had a fatal flaw: I couldn't get a good signal indoors. Could any current T-Mobile subscribers tell me if this is still a thing?
- fillskills 7y ago
  Not an issue where we live. Decent coverage and network everywhere
- nikhizzle 7y ago
  No problems in South Florida or the Bay Area. In fact, since the 600mhz rollout I’ve been getting reception deep inside Costco etc
- hyperbovine 7y ago
  Bands 12 and 71 have been added since then, so in theory it would improve. But I've always found indoor reception to be highly YMMV. Best to test first. Also, wifi calling largely solves this.
  - joecool1029 7y ago
    Band 12 alone dramatically improved indoor coverage. Prior to this they were the only national carrier without low-band (under 1000mhz) spectrum holdings, with the exception of Myrtle Beach's band 5 license (weird company acquisition history there).
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- mekane8 7y ago
  Coverage in my town is fine, but indoors is terrible!
- ac29 7y ago
  Check out https://www.cellmapper.net https://www.cellmapper.net If you zoom in enough, it will tell you what bands each tower supports. As others have mentioned, band 12 and 71 are T-mobile's sub-1GHz bands, which are best at getting into buildings. Many phones support band 12, but 71 is a little less common (flagship smartphones from the past couple years tend to support it, midrange and low end phones less commonly). But, at least where I live, I generally have no issue with band 4/66 signals indoors, due to density of infrastructure. Pretty much every phone will support band 4 (and band 66 is a superset of that).
tzm 7y ago
> By checking this box you agree that T-Mobile can contact you about purchasing T-Mobile Home Internet, including future Home Internet offers, via autodialed call, email, or text to the number provided above. Consent is not a condition of purchase; you may also call 1-844-839-5057 to get started. (required) "Check Availability" does nothing useful. The landing page is an opt-in lead generation tool.
everybodyknows 7y ago
Long-term T-mo data subscriber here, on "unlimited data" plan. The catch being that any amount going out over the hotspot beyond a plan-specific limit, and NOT qualifying for T-mo's Binge-On tier is throttled to 2G speeds i.e. unusable. Access to current month remaining data of the critical service slice -- high-speed hotspot -- remains difficult: many taps/clicks required Other "issues": Payment website this month stopped supporting Firefox. Responds with cryptic complaint about "client ID" upon entering account phone number. Website loops in third-party trackers, Facebook ...
- slenk 7y ago
  I would hope the home internet is set up differently than a "hotspot" plan, because they will be very many use cases
mekane8 7y ago
I'm very interested in knowing more, but even as a current subscriber I am really uncomfortable with the pressure this form is putting on me to sign up, just to see if it's available!
dingosity 7y ago
I was tempted to ask, "sure, but what's the data cap?" One issue I've had w/ T-Mobile in the past is they say "unlimited mobile broadband" and if you poke around in the fine print you find that "unlimited" means 2G per month or something. So I wonder... what is the data cap on their "no data cap" plans?
neogodless 7y ago
Just as an anecdote / FYI, since I had an LLC registered, I signed up for Teltik which uses T-Mobile and got a 5MB/month hotspot plan through them. Got my dad a nice LTE hotspot (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5ASNTE/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5ASNTE/) and that's what he uses for his home internet. Obviously his usage is modest - no streaming media (Netflix, etc.), but some YouTube. However, it is so much better than the previous FreedomPop / DataJack stuff we used before, although those were dirt, dirt cheap. I ran a quick Speed Test check on his connection, and got 29 Mb/s down and 15 Mb/s up. https://www.speedtest.net/result/7621011424 https://www.speedtest.net/result/7621011424 (about 14 months ago.) Obviously this will vary by location! When I had Comcast, I believe it showed me monthly usage, and I think it was something like 20 GB per month. That's with heavy Netflix/Hulu usage every evening. This wireless internet would probably work for us speedwise... but because I live somewhere that offers both Comcast and Verizon FIOS, I'm able to get 100/100 Mbps service for $40/month. And that's a wire into my home and no concern over hidden data caps (at my usage levels). I wouldn't choose wireless over that unless there was significant savings.
- joecot 7y ago
  > This wireless internet would probably work for us speedwise... but because I live somewhere that offers both Comcast and Verizon FIOS, I'm able to get 100/100 Mbps service for $40/month. This service isn't made for you then. If you watch the video on the site the customer is clear: rural area residents without a hope or prayer of getting high speed internet. Where neither cable, or fiber, or potentially even DSL is available. There are large swaths or rural America who still can't get real internet access, and there isn't money in it for telecoms to build the infrastructure to serve them. And those telecoms have squandered the funds that were specifically earmarked to give those people service. You luckily have two options for high speed internet. Many Americans only have one. Some other Americans currently have 0. Wireless internet like this might be their best option, even if it's not your best option.
  - neogodless 7y ago
    Of course. That's why I spoke in some detail about my dad above, but I did omit useful details. Rural. Long driveway. Zero wired high speed options. Comcast wanted ~$1200 to install wire.
gwbas1c 7y ago
How do I check availability without signing up to be pestered by a salesman?

30 points by whitepoplar 7y ago

Hope they can Sprint's mid-band spectrum deployed quickly to deal with this influx of data.... at least until they have a viable millimeter wave plan. This is probably more viable in suburban, maybe sub suburban/rural areas until they can get millimeter wave going.

joecool1029 7y ago
> Hope they can Sprint's mid-band spectrum deployed quickly to deal with this influx of data They would need to complete the merger for that. As it stands in my region Sprint can roam on T-Mobile's mid-band spectrum (2/4), but not vice-versa (and low band 12/71 is disallowed). Millimeter wave isn't going to help suburban/rural areas. Already Band 41 (2500mhz) sprint LTE-TDD doesn't go through walls well, for home internet you're basically looking to have an external antenna.
- smachiz 7y ago
  >Millimeter wave isn't going to help suburban/rural areas. Already Band 41 (2500mhz) sprint LTE-TDD doesn't go through walls well, for home internet you're basically looking to have an external antenna. Correct - I didn't say it would. What I said is it isn't viable to do in urban areas until they have millimeter wave.

eganist 7y ago

Aside from your home address, the field doesn't validate data input for practical correctness. This is important because t-mobile forces you to consent to marketing in order to find out availability, but you can still check for rough availability with garbage information (incl. an e.g. 1-nnn-555-nnnn number and a mailinator or equally disposable email address) and an address near you, ideally an address that's an empty lot or nonexistent/halfway between homes. It's also why I flagged the post -- t-mobile is seeking marketing opt-ins with this effort, and that's about it. A genuine lookup service wouldn't force opt-in consent in this manner.

replytothederp 7y ago
Uh you literally think the post should be flagged because of marketing preferences???? Call t-mobile instead perhaps? Is there rules against this ludicrous post flagging behavior?

luckydata 7y ago

Is it me or they try real hard not to disclose the connection speed?

jf 7y ago
I wasn’t able to find any indication of connection speed either
joecool1029 7y ago
> Is it me or they try real hard not to disclose the connection speed? It's not possible to disclose precise information without knowing spectrum holdings/configuration, installed tower equipment, distance from tower, and the current network conditions. The only thing they could disclose are things like throttling video, and give an approximation of what a market might expect typical speeds to be around.
- luckydata 7y ago
  They could give a range.
jonnismash 7y ago
That's what I was digging for as well, as it's LTE based I can't imagine a consistent connection or a particularly fast connection.
dbcurtis 7y ago
It is not just you. Also, asking for contact information just to do a coverage check is very sketchy.
dbcurtis 7y ago
I did find this FAQ that discusses speed in very broad terms. https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/internet-service https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/polici...
- joecool1029 7y ago

qsymmachus 7y ago

I was a T-Mobile subscriber twice, first in the mid aughts and then again about 6 years ago. Both times their network had a fatal flaw: I couldn't get a good signal indoors. Could any current T-Mobile subscribers tell me if this is still a thing?

fillskills 7y ago
Not an issue where we live. Decent coverage and network everywhere
nikhizzle 7y ago
No problems in South Florida or the Bay Area. In fact, since the 600mhz rollout I’ve been getting reception deep inside Costco etc
hyperbovine 7y ago
Bands 12 and 71 have been added since then, so in theory it would improve. But I've always found indoor reception to be highly YMMV. Best to test first. Also, wifi calling largely solves this.
- joecool1029 7y ago
  Band 12 alone dramatically improved indoor coverage. Prior to this they were the only national carrier without low-band (under 1000mhz) spectrum holdings, with the exception of Myrtle Beach's band 5 license (weird company acquisition history there).
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
mekane8 7y ago
Coverage in my town is fine, but indoors is terrible!
ac29 7y ago
Check out https://www.cellmapper.net https://www.cellmapper.net If you zoom in enough, it will tell you what bands each tower supports. As others have mentioned, band 12 and 71 are T-mobile's sub-1GHz bands, which are best at getting into buildings. Many phones support band 12, but 71 is a little less common (flagship smartphones from the past couple years tend to support it, midrange and low end phones less commonly). But, at least where I live, I generally have no issue with band 4/66 signals indoors, due to density of infrastructure. Pretty much every phone will support band 4 (and band 66 is a superset of that).

tzm 7y ago

> By checking this box you agree that T-Mobile can contact you about purchasing T-Mobile Home Internet, including future Home Internet offers, via autodialed call, email, or text to the number provided above. Consent is not a condition of purchase; you may also call 1-844-839-5057 to get started. (required) "Check Availability" does nothing useful. The landing page is an opt-in lead generation tool.

everybodyknows 7y ago

Long-term T-mo data subscriber here, on "unlimited data" plan. The catch being that any amount going out over the hotspot beyond a plan-specific limit, and NOT qualifying for T-mo's Binge-On tier is throttled to 2G speeds i.e. unusable. Access to current month remaining data of the critical service slice -- high-speed hotspot -- remains difficult: many taps/clicks required Other "issues": Payment website this month stopped supporting Firefox. Responds with cryptic complaint about "client ID" upon entering account phone number. Website loops in third-party trackers, Facebook ...

slenk 7y ago
I would hope the home internet is set up differently than a "hotspot" plan, because they will be very many use cases

mekane8 7y ago

I'm very interested in knowing more, but even as a current subscriber I am really uncomfortable with the pressure this form is putting on me to sign up, just to see if it's available!

dingosity 7y ago

I was tempted to ask, "sure, but what's the data cap?" One issue I've had w/ T-Mobile in the past is they say "unlimited mobile broadband" and if you poke around in the fine print you find that "unlimited" means 2G per month or something. So I wonder... what is the data cap on their "no data cap" plans?

neogodless 7y ago

Just as an anecdote / FYI, since I had an LLC registered, I signed up for Teltik which uses T-Mobile and got a 5MB/month hotspot plan through them. Got my dad a nice LTE hotspot (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5ASNTE/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5ASNTE/) and that's what he uses for his home internet. Obviously his usage is modest - no streaming media (Netflix, etc.), but some YouTube. However, it is so much better than the previous FreedomPop / DataJack stuff we used before, although those were dirt, dirt cheap. I ran a quick Speed Test check on his connection, and got 29 Mb/s down and 15 Mb/s up. https://www.speedtest.net/result/7621011424 https://www.speedtest.net/result/7621011424 (about 14 months ago.) Obviously this will vary by location! When I had Comcast, I believe it showed me monthly usage, and I think it was something like 20 GB per month. That's with heavy Netflix/Hulu usage every evening. This wireless internet would probably work for us speedwise... but because I live somewhere that offers both Comcast and Verizon FIOS, I'm able to get 100/100 Mbps service for $40/month. And that's a wire into my home and no concern over hidden data caps (at my usage levels). I wouldn't choose wireless over that unless there was significant savings.

joecot 7y ago
> This wireless internet would probably work for us speedwise... but because I live somewhere that offers both Comcast and Verizon FIOS, I'm able to get 100/100 Mbps service for $40/month. This service isn't made for you then. If you watch the video on the site the customer is clear: rural area residents without a hope or prayer of getting high speed internet. Where neither cable, or fiber, or potentially even DSL is available. There are large swaths or rural America who still can't get real internet access, and there isn't money in it for telecoms to build the infrastructure to serve them. And those telecoms have squandered the funds that were specifically earmarked to give those people service. You luckily have two options for high speed internet. Many Americans only have one. Some other Americans currently have 0. Wireless internet like this might be their best option, even if it's not your best option.
- neogodless 7y ago
  Of course. That's why I spoke in some detail about my dad above, but I did omit useful details. Rural. Long driveway. Zero wired high speed options. Comcast wanted ~$1200 to install wire.

gwbas1c 7y ago

How do I check availability without signing up to be pestered by a salesman?