
T-Mobile Now Offers Home Internet for $50 Per Month with No Data Cap - whitepoplar
https://www.t-mobile.com/isp/index
======
eganist
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.

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tzm
> 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.

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

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neogodless
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
> 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
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.

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mekane8
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!

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

~~~
joecool1029
> 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
They could give a range.

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smachiz
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
> 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
>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.

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qsymmachus
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?

~~~
hyperbovine
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
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).

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gwbas1c
How do I check availability without signing up to be pestered by a salesman?

