T-Mobile Says It Will Support Wi-Fi Calling for iPhones Running iOS 8

[TXCherokee]

so.. assuming that the bullet listed in the slide 'Wi-Fi Calling' Image
is NOT actually referring to the 'Continuity' feature announced separately that allows a cell call to be answered on another Mac.. (that some of you may be confusing this with)

then implementing voice over wifi (calling) is actually a very logical move for all next generation cellular networks (& devices).. as the LTE enabled networks & beyond will transition all voice to voice over ip (over whatever transport the carrier supports).. most of today's devices are hybrid data over LTE & voice over GSM/CDMA.. but, will start to transition to both full voice & data over ip over ..[insert future data network here]..

T-Mobile, & a couple of others had basically implemented a discrete voice over ip client & gateways (UMA/GAN) that leveraged a carrier-integrated voice over ip network - as mentioned previously that helped addressed short-comings in their own network coverage, but, also enabled cheap or free calls for anyone that had wifi access..

just to reiterate & at the risk of repetition.. sorry long post.... in the not to distant future all voice will ride whatever underlying data network is available (wifi, cellular, etc..) - the (current) constraint is the degree to which it's been implemented at the carriers infrastructure or client device.. & Apple supporting VoLTE in iOS 8 is great news..

Man, if only you had Mark-up, you could have magnified and circled the "Wi-Fi calling" line so I would not have had to look all over the slide for it.

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Basically, in my thinking, if this was true wifi calling, the cell phone service providers would be very unhappy with Apple doing this. Much use of this would likely cut right into the goal of tabulating minutes/data. If I'm AT&T, Verizon, etc, I'd be VERY UNHAPPY with such a move. So, Apple would run it by these very important partners and then sell it by showing them how it will cleverly still burn just as much minutes/data while cutting demand on their cellular networks.

In the US, I wouldn't be so sure AT&T and Verizon would care. Both are major players in the ISP market and will get your traffic (and send you a bill for it) either way. If your call is on WiFi, then there should be less tower traffic, will delay the need for cell improvements, and may lower capital improvement costs.

 

[jlc1978]

Does a carrier have to agree to support Wifi calling? I guess I was naive enough to think that carriers would allow this for free and that it didn't require any action from the carrier.

AT&T will probably make it an additional fee, that they won't allow on the older grandfathered unlimited data plans.

Since WiFI calling has no impact on data plan use I see no reason for any carrier to charge; in fact it lightens the load on their network so pushing people to it make senses. Not to say they won't charge but it make son sense to do so.

I am curious if T-Mobile will let you call for free from WiFi hotspots back to US phones, and vice versa, when you roam abroad, al la Skype. That would be a very useful service since you could not only make, but receive calls, check voicemail, etc. abroad.

Of course, if this becomes real popular you'll probably see a lot of the Free Hotspots limit VoIP use.

 

[ppc_michael]

iOS 8 has been one huge "Jeez, iPhones couldn't do that before??" moment for me. Glad to see you guys are finally getting caught up.

 

[osofast240sx]

iOS 8 has been one huge "Jeez, iPhones couldn't do that before??" moment for me. Glad to see you guys are finally getting caught up.

Yep without the malware.#

 

[gotluck]

Yep without the malware.#

must lack much common sense to get malware on android

 

[869639]

I'm afraid you're incorrect...see this T-Mobile support document: http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-9997



You are correct though, unlimited talk does solve that problem

Your right and this is strange regarding T-Mobile's WiFi Calling as other carriers offer UNLIMITED......hopefully they will change that although I doubt they will because they only have 1 plan that has "Minutes" and thats the $30 plan on Prepaid.

There is no additional monthly charge to use Wi-Fi calling. Wi-Fi calling uses monthly plan minutes for the following:
Calls made from the US to US numbers use plan minutes.
Calls made from the US to international numbers (subject to international rates)
Calls made from outside the US to US numbers (not charged roaming)
Calls made from outside the US to international numbers (subject to international rates, but not charged roaming)
Note: You must disable Data Roaming when traveling internationally to avoid incurring data roaming charges.

Calls
All incoming calls received over Wi-Fi Calling are $0.00.
Wi-Fi calls placed to the U.S. from anywhere are $0.00.

 

[JAT]

Basically, in my thinking, if this was true wifi calling, the cell phone service providers would be very unhappy with Apple doing this. Much use of this would likely cut right into the goal of tabulating minutes/data. If I'm AT&T, Verizon, etc, I'd be VERY UNHAPPY with such a move. So, Apple would run it by these very important partners and then sell it by showing them how it will cleverly still burn just as much minutes/data while cutting demand on their cellular networks.

Nice to see someone else caught what is really going on.

Of course, all the current standard cell plans have unlimited minutes. They really are charging on data usage, now.

 

[OtherJesus]

FTA works only within the Apple ecosystem whereas this is for calling any phone number in the world.

Gotcha. Don't know why I overlooked that. Thanks!

 

[Chatter]

Your right and this is strange regarding T-Mobile's WiFi Calling as other carriers offer UNLIMITED......

I am on TMo and a while ago, you just ahd to call TMo and add unlimited wifi calling for free WITHOUT being on the unlimited data/mins plan.

What the document is getting at is that if you are on a prepaid plan, you do not get free minutes on wifi calling. When I was on Android, all calls on wifi did NOT use minutes off the plan. I even called back to the U.S. from abroad (international) without paying a cent. Basically, I turned off all cell functionality and used local wifi. On Android and BB, you had the ability to select your network.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

In the US, I wouldn't be so sure AT&T and Verizon would care. Both are major players in the ISP market and will get your traffic (and send you a bill for it) either way. If your call is on WiFi, then there should be less tower traffic, will delay the need for cell improvements, and may lower capital improvement costs.

Oh, they'll care. The nickel & diming game is THE game. What you share there could certainly be true and can look like that from our point of view. Now get in their shoes…

1. They'll get the payment for monthly broadband either way. It's not like allowing this makes them more money on the monthly (home) broadband bill.
2. Making this convenience burn minutes/data may get a user to cross into a higher tier for additional monthly revenue on the cellular bill.

So yes, conceptually a call made via wifi won't make ANY demand on their cellular bandwidth or cellular infrastructure at all. Since it costs them nothing, why not pass that savings through to us consumers? It's AT&T, Verizon, etc.

 

[nilk]

T-Mobile has wifi calling for a long time. I believe even before the first iPhone was released. I remember seeing it as an option for some Blackberry models, and it even handled handoff when switching between cellular and wifi. At the time, they were charging an extra $10/month if you wanted your wifi calling to not use your minutes and be "unlimited".

Good to see this built into iOS. BTW There are custom builds of Android that support this on T-Mobile, but is not part of stock Android. I think wifi calling should be something built into all phone operating system, though that would mean each OS would have a specific protocol that the carriers would need to implement.

And yes, of course the carriers have to do something to make this possible. They have to implement the servers to route the traffic over the internet. This isn't completely free for them, as they have to maintain the servers and bandwidth isn't free, but I imagine it's considerably cheaper than the cost involved in cellular communication.

I imagine AT&T wouldn't have too much trouble implementing this, as they already support Microcell (which are basically personal cell access points that connect to your internet connection and route traffic over the internet). If AT&T implements this, I'm sure they will require you to switch to their Mobile Share plan, which means number of minutes is a non-issue since all those plans have unlimited minutes. It seems most carriers are offering unlimited minutes in all their plans now, so whether or not wifi calling uses minutes is less relevant now (though I agree it's silly if it uses minutes; customers should have an incentive to not use the cellular network as it lowers the carrier's costs).

 

[jclardy]

What does using a feature over Wi-fi have anything to do with these greedy telecom companies? They shouldn't have any say over that.

It is because the calls still have to be routed through the carrier so that they are from your phone number.

The real question is whether wifi calls are free or not, as if they are then that $30 t-mobile plan with only 100 minutes becomes a lot more attractive.

 

[I7guy]

Nice to see someone else caught what is really going on.

Of course, all the current standard cell plans have unlimited minutes. They really are charging on data usage, now.

Verizon charges your minutes even if one has a "network extender". They won't give away wifi either.

 

[drewyboy]

What does using a feature over Wi-fi have anything to do with these greedy telecom companies? They shouldn't have any say over that.

They are the middle exchange man for this. Someone needs to convert an internet packet to a radio signal. You on wifi -> telco -> friend using a tower

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It is because the calls still have to be routed through the carrier so that they are from your phone number.

The real question is whether wifi calls are free or not, as if they are then that $30 t-mobile plan with only 100 minutes becomes a lot more attractive.

They're probably going to limit it to their simple choice plans, which is pretty much every post paid except the $30 one.

 

[John.B]

FTA works only within the Apple ecosystem whereas this is for calling any phone number in the world.

I logged in to post this but you beat me to it. Wi-Fi calling connects your iPhone via WiFi to the POTS world.

 

[arian19]

Why would a carrier not want this? The user already paid them money, and now the user is using his/her own internet connection for the call. That's a triple win for the carrier (gets money from user, user don't use the network, user thinks coverage is great).

I think you misunderstood how WiFi calling works...

Your phone is still using cellular to connect the call... but then transfers your call through WiFi between the computer and phone. (like tethering)

Cellular Phone Call --> iPhone --> WiFi --> Mac Speaker

You still are using the phone... it's just like having a WiFi Speaker

Both your iPhone and Mac have to be connected to the same WiFi network for it to work.

 

[mungo2k]

If this T-Mobile is in any way related to the UK T-Mobile, owned by EE, then they are ridiculous enough to charge you extra for Tethering, so I would expect them to also be ridiculous enough to count wifi call minutes on your phone plan.

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Both your iPhone and Mac have to be connected to the same WiFi network for it to work.

Do they also need to be on the same subnet? I've already come across a few things that don't work (or don't work well) on enterprise wi-fi due to being spread over multiple subnets (so Bonjour doesn't work). E.g. Airplay, AirPrint, Time Machine etc.

 

[pxbr]

I think you misunderstood how WiFi calling works...

Your phone is still using cellular to connect the call... but then transfers your call through WiFi between the computer and phone. (like tethering)

Cellular Phone Call --> iPhone --> WiFi --> Mac Speaker

You still are using the phone... it's just like having a WiFi Speaker

Both your iPhone and Mac have to be connected to the same WiFi network for it to work.

Unfortunately you are confusing wifi calling with the new Yosemite 'continuity' feature.. Wifi calling & continuity are entirely different features. http://www.apple.com/osx/preview/mac-and-ios/

 

[NY Guitarist]

I'm still unsure what this feature does.

Is this like the AT&T Micro-cell I use at home with my iPhone now, where the cell signal from the phone talks to the Micro-cell which then converts it to use over the internet, and then gets converted by AT&T to a phone call on the other end?

If this is like FTA on my end who converts it on the other end if it's not a FTA call, but a landline or (non-FTA) cell call?

I've been using FTA calls very often lately and love the audio quality, plus that it's not using minutes from my plan, and I'm still using my iPhone to make the calls.

Or is this just Mac <-> Wifi <-> iPhone <-> cell call?

 

[80sGuy]

Wifi-Calling: Here's how it works, the benefits, pros & cons....

Wifi Calling:
Enable a caller to make calls using the wifi network. Just simply turn on Wifi from your phone, then enable the 'wifi-calling button' - an icon will lit up letting you know wifi-calling is ready (you will see this if your phone has the feature otherwise no, and all you can do is surf the web. Any calls you make will be utilizing regular cell/data).

Why Wifi-Calling and its pros/cons:
This is an excellent feature especially if you're indoors with weak signal. Turn on Wifi; enable wifi-calling and automatically you will get full bars. It is seamless and will switch back and forth to cellular/wifi if one of the signals are weak. It uses your existing cell number w/o an app or any other extra effort other than turning the feature on. There are settings of how you want it to work.

Pros:
Wifi-Calling calling is not only limited to help one get better cell reception but also good for people that travels. You can call anyone (to any type of phone) with a U.S. number and it won't cost you a penny. Some of you might say that you can do the same with Facetime -- NO you can't! Facetime is only good if someone you know uses an Apple device, what about your friends with Samsungs, Nokia Windows phone, or landline??? No can do. With Wifi-Calling you can call so long as they are U.S. numbers.

Cons: There is only one I can think of: it only uses Wifi network and not data. However facetime (on iOS7 or higher) can use both wifi and data but again they have their limitations.

Count towards Minute? Yes. Roaming charges? NO!
T-Mobile's wifi-calling will still count towards your minutes, but they have ONE 'simple choice plan' now with unlimited talk/texts.
Roaming? It is free in 122 countries. Meaning you can surf the web roaming other data network and it won't cost you a dime, but be careful when you want to make a call - turn on Wifi-Calling and it won't you a dime either.

This is the day I have been waiting for! I can now enjoy both my 5c/s

 

[CyBeRino]

I'm still unsure what this feature does.

Is this like the AT&T Micro-cell I use at home with my iPhone now, where the cell signal from the phone talks to the Micro-cell which then converts it to use over the internet, and then gets converted by AT&T to a phone call on the other end?

If this is like FTA on my end who converts it on the other end if it's not a FTA call, but a landline or (non-FTA) cell call?

I've been using FTA calls very often lately and love the audio quality, plus that it's not using minutes from my plan, and I'm still using my iPhone to make the calls.

Or is this just Mac <-> Wifi <-> iPhone <-> cell call?

This just takes your regular phone call and instead of routing it over the GSM, CDMA or UMTS networks, it routes it over your local internet connection (which, in the case of a phone, is going to be wifi-based though a theoretical iPhone with an ethernet jack would be able to use that too)

There's not really anything special about it from the user point of view; you just make and receive phone calls like always. Except you can do it where there's no cell reception (so long as there's internet).

 

[ross1998]

I don't see why anyone would care if tmobile uses wifi calling as part of your plan minutes considering they got rid of overages....

 

[80sGuy]

I don't see why anyone would care if tmobile uses wifi calling as part of your plan minutes considering they got rid of overages....

Some people are still with the older plans. But they should switch because the Simple Choice Plan cost almost the same - with unlimited talk/text and unlimited data (slows down over 1GB).

 

[alphaod]

As long as I don't have to pay extra for this feature, it would great if AT&T will support this so I can get rid of the piece of crap known as the microcell.

 

[80sGuy]

^^The feature is FREE with T-Mobile.