Wi-Fi Calling for Emergency Response

On the T-Mobile blog the other day, there was a post about its Persistent Communication Solutions powered by T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi Calling for Government technology. Have you heard about it? 

It's a really valuable and important program as it allows first responders – including police, firefighters and EMTs --

"to stay connected during emergencies with the same phone they use every day, without having to switch to a different device, even when commercial wireless networks are out of service. It also enables wireless communication where no commercial networks exist – so first responders can stay connected even in the most remote areas."  

You can read more about it at the T-Mobile blog post.

It ties in for us regular folk, too. As I blogged the other day, Wi-Fi Calling came in quite handy in recent weeks post-earthquake on the east coast and also during and after the Hurricane Irene havoc for people who had electricity and wanted to reach out to friends and family to check in. Cell towers got knocked out and networks were overly congested. Wi-Fi Calling gave many some peace of mind.

It's great to learn about T-Mobile's programs like this -- it's not something we often hear about. Have you been in a situation where Wi-Fi Calling really helped you? Tell me about it in the comments.

Wi-Fi Calling Post-Earthquake

Mobile phones provide a level of accessibility and convenience we've never had before. And in times of crisis, they are the first things we look to in order to connect and get reassurance. Of course, that's why all the mobile operators reported clogged networks in the Northeast US Tuesday when nearly the entire East Coast into parts of the Midwest started rumbling from the earthquake.

Mobile operators took to Twitter to encourage subscribers to try email and other ways of communication. But many T-Mobile customers had an edge with Wi-Fi Calling. Through Twitter, we read first-hand accounts about how Wi-Fi Calling helped families and friends to connect.

Here's just a sampling of the tweets about how helpful Wi-Fi Calling was post earthquake:

@johnashtonedgar: @TMobile #Tmobile Wi-Fi calling would also help alleviate the stress on the network in earthquake affected areas. #EastCoastEarthquake

@NuShrike ironically, I'm hearing it's #WiFi calling that still works on East Coast @TmoNews @TMobile @kinetowireless @alfranken @SenatorSanders

@MadBlackPoet This wifi calling is very useful in times like these. Damn, cell towers jammed.

@Luton13 #tmobile wifi calling working like a champ...thank you magenta for innovating even when towers are not working

@signofthegrind @MsCat215 most cells are down or overloaded. Unless u use wifi calling

@JGarc1187 Put that android or blackberry to work... Use wifi calling.. It works to make calls and text..I hope everyone is ok...

@Brownnotes215 If you can't make calls use wifi calling to make calls

@msparisknight Wow that earthquake was crazy! Thankful for wifi calling

@HaisamIdo Thank u @TMobile for providing free Wi-fi Calling on my #android phone. I was able to send SMS during #earthquake !!!

@FACEofDIAMONDS - Now calling Mom using Wi-Fi calling. If you need to reach loved ones with no service I can help you through Wi-Fi calling.

Follow these tweets and more at Twitter.com/KinetoWireless.

Have you had any experiences where Wi-Fi Calling helped you when you really needed it? Tell us in the comments.

Not Resting on our Laurels

Second quarter was a strong and positive one for Kineto. We're not resting on our laurels, mind you, but I do want to share them with you.

By the end of Q2 2011, Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi Application was officially on 15 additional Android smartphones. This brings the total number of Smart Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones to more than 30 from the industry's leading manufacturers, including HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Samsung and ZTE.

Other highlights:

•  Orange UK has expanded its Signal Boost service (based on Smart Wi-Fi) to offer the following nine smartphones: Samsung Galaxy S II and Galaxy Ace; the LG Optimus Me; HTC Wildfire S, Cha Cha and Desire S; along with the Orange-branded Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Stockholm.

•  T-Mobile USA introduced six new Wi-Fi Calling-enabled smartphones, including the Samsung Dart™, Samsung Gravity™ SMART, Samsung Exhibit™ 4G; HTC Sensation™ 4G, T-Mobile® G2x™ with Google™ and the T-Mobile® Sidekick® 4G, providing customers with enhanced network coverage and the ability to experience high-quality voice and data on their home Wi-Fi networks.

•  ZTE will now pre-load Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi Application onto select new Android-based smartphones.

•  Huawei will now pre-load Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi Application onto select new Android-based smartphones.

Read the full Kineto Q2 milestones press release.

Want to keep up to date on Kineto activities? Subscribe to this blog's feed and follow Kineto on Twitter @kinetowireless.

Would free calls make things better?

There was an article the other day on Fierce Wireless entitled "Enterprise not thrilled with Wi-Fi offload strategies."

The article alludes to enterprise IT networks carrying employees' smartphone data traffic over their Wi-Fi infrastructure.

This is a fundamental problem with offload - it's not a consumer (or business) feature/benefit. Offload is something that is for mobile operators. In return for providing offload, the mobile operator ought to provide something in return.

Would free calls make things better?

Last week, T-Mobile introduced free calls over Wi-Fi via its Wi-Fi Calling service. Now domestic calls to any number, placed over Wi-Fi, don't count against the subscriber's plan minutes or bucket.

In effect, T-Mobile is offering its customers a benefit for using Wi-Fi.

Rather than begging or pleading with people to turn on Wi-Fi for offload, T-Mobile is providing a positive incentive to use Wi-Fi (free calling); and in return, T-Mobile gets the benefit of offload.

Oh yeah, they get other benefits too. Wi-Fi Calling boosts in-building coverage - and happy subscribers with good coverage churn less.

It seems like one operator has finally hit on a plan to actually increase Wi-Fi usage in the home and office.

T-Mobile rolls out free calls over Wi-Fi

Once again, TMoNews.com scooped everyone else with the news that T-Mobile is announcing FREE calls over Wi-Fi starting May 13^th. Per the internal memo in the article, it seems like there’s no doubt. A few calls today to local shops in Silicon Valley confirms it.

What does this mean? Free means free. For subscribers with Wi-Fi Calling capable phones that are powered by Kineto’s Smart Wi-Fi Application, calls over Wi-Fi will now NOT count against the plan bucket. Previously, calls over Wi-Fi were charged like calls over cellular.

Since initially launching last November, T-Mobile has focused its Wi-Fi Calling service on reducing churn by improving coverage and customer satisfaction.

By expanding Wi-Fi Calling to free calling plus better coverage, T-Mobile is able to drive offload by providing positive incentives for people to turn on Wi-Fi at home and in the office – the two locations which account for 50-66% of mobile data usage.

T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi Calling service gives subscribers what they want: better service at a lower cost.

For mobile service providers looking to encourage Wi-Fi offload, Smart Wi-Fi delivers powerful incentives that change consumer behavior.

I think there are some big implications about telephony, the future of voice, even femtocells, in this service offer. And certainly, T-Mobile continues to lead the pack in customer service. See what subscribers are saying at WiFiCalling.net/twitter.

What do you think about this announcement? Let me know in the comments.

More satisfied customers

(Click on image if need to view it bigger for reading.)

Wi-Fi May Just be the Glue to Hold AT&T, T-Mobile Networks Together

Dan Jones of LightReading, a tough critic of the mobile operator landscape, taped this brief video at CTIA 2011 in which he discusses how T-Mobile and AT&T can tie together their networks in the early days of the merger.

He says the combination of assets - AT&T's vast network of public wi-fi hotspots and T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling service - can be brought together ahead of the hardware for the 3G and eventually LTE networks: "Think of Wi-Fi as the glue that will hold it all together before we get to fourth generation services."

Watch the video below. What do you think about Dan's prediction?

The 0.2% Solution

At the “Path to 4G” event hosted by Fierce Wireless, and held in conjunction with the CTIA 2011 show in Orlando, Sprint’s vp of network development Iyad Tarazi disclosed that the company has 0.1 million femtocells deployed.

I think the word ‘disclosed’ is key.

0.1 million (aka 100,000) femtocells is nothing to be proud of, but honestly, I don't know what Sprint's expectations were.

Let’s consider the history.  Sprint launched their ‘Airave’ to much fanfare in August 2008.  At the time, the devices were featured prominently in their retail shops.  And in August, 2010, Sprint actually offered to give them away for FREE.

So after three years and giving them away for FREE, Sprint’s been able to actually pawn off 0.1 million devices.   With 50 million subscribers, this works out to a paltry 0.2% of the subscriber base.

How many of these units are actually active?  Many people I speak with who got a femtocell (not necessarily from Sprint) say they tried it and discarded it.

Compare this with T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi Calling service, which has roughly 5 million subscribers.  Of course they aren’t active all the time, but it’s certainly a lot more than 0.1m.

T-Mobile Helps Customers Stay Connected to Japan

T-Mobile US announced last week that it will waive call charges, Wi-Fi Calling and text message charges to and from Japan, in an effort to provide some relief to customers with loved ones in the ravaged country.

Here are the terms of the offer:

• T-Mobile USA is enabling phone calls to Japan for postpaid customers without charges for international long distance through March 31, 2011, and retroactive to March 11, 2011.
• T-Mobile postpaid customers can make Wi-Fi calls to and from Japan free of charge through March 31, 2011, and retroactive to March 11, 2011.
• Text (SMS) messaging is also free of charge to and from Japan for T-Mobile postpaid customers through March 31, 2011 and retroactive to March 11, 2011. 

 Plus, customers can donate $10 by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999. There's no charge for those texts.

We just wanted to help spread the word, and our hearts go out to those people in need.

Three, Two, One, Launch!

At CTIA yesterday, T-Mobile announced three new phones with Wi-Fi Calling.

First up, the lightening fast G2x from LG (aka Optimus 2x).  This new device sports the Tegra dual-core processor from NVIDIA.  As the review said, “applications literally felt like they were opening and closing instantly.”  Throw in Wi-Fi Calling, and this phone is sure to be a winner.

Next up is the “Astound”, or Nokia C7.  Of course Nokia’s position in the US market is slim.  But after using the phone on the Nokia stand at CTIA, I have to say it isn’t half bad.  It’s not a ‘web’ phone like Android or iPhone, but as Sasha Segan suggests, it could be “T-Mobile’s best feature phone”.  Best feature:  Wi-Fi Calling!

Finally is the new Sidekick 4G from Samsung.  In July 2010, T-Mobile asked loyal Sidekick customers to “stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead.”  I guess they meant 9 months ahead, because the Sidekick franchise has been reborn with this cool new devices – which includes Wi-Fi Calling.

It's clear that T-Mobile is continuing to aggressively pursue their Wi-Fi Calling advantage in the Market.  More than half of all phones available on T-Mobile's website today are Wi-Fi Calling enabled.  It looks like this is a winner.

T-Mobile, AT&T and Me

Sunday’s announcement that AT&T was going to buy smaller rival T-Mobile did come as a surprise to many in the mobile industry.

At a reception for the CTIA Wireless show being held in Orlando (ironically hosted by Sprint), talk of the merger was a central topic for the night.

But rather than thinking about it in macro terms, I wanted to think about what it would mean to me, both a T-Mobile subscriber and being involved in providing Smart Wi-Fi (aka Wi-Fi Calling) to T-Mobile.

One of the reasons I’m passionate about Wi-Fi Calling is that it’s a critical tool for me.  I get one/two bars of edge service in my house and virtually no 3G.  Yet every time I pick up my phone at home, my signal is strong because of Wi-Fi.

So I was pleased when I saw Sasha Sagan’s post yesterday titled “The Five Best T-Mobile Features ATT Must Keep”, I was excited to see others excited about Wi-Fi Calling:

2. Wi-Fi Calling. AT&T and Verizon say their networks are so good that you should never need a backup. T-Mobile is humble enough to admit that, yeah, sometimes a Wi-Fi signal is better than a cellphone signal. T-Mobile's Wi-Fi calling solution is the best in the business. It's a lifeline in weak-signal areas, and it saves you big bucks abroad.

The others are good ideas too (‘Stock’ Android devices, true HSPA+, “Even More Plus”, and Great Customer Service), and are important to me as a consumer.  But I'm amazed by the number of tweets that are directed at having AT&T perpetuate Wi-Fi Calling.

@LunaticSX: It’d be awesome if T-Mobile USA’s UMA WiFi calling (http://bit.ly/f5i9wm ) became available to all AT&T customers, as well.
@gwapz: I just hope AT&T adopts T-Mobile UMA features.
@mikethewhite: @TMobile Please don't let At&t ruin #wificalling it's your best feature by far. (and non contract even more plus plans)

In the short term, Wi-Fi Calling should continue unabated.  It’s a significant sales and customer care advantage for T-Mobile.  Longer term, I’ve always believed that AT&T was an ideal operator to benefit from tighter Wi-Fi integration.

T-Mobile Talks Up It's Wi-Fi Calling Advantage

At Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile’s Josh Lonn spent some time talking with several different editors about the company’s success with the Wi-Fi Calling service.

In Monica Alleven’s article “Wi-Fi Calling is Talk of the Town,” she quotes Mr. Lonn saying “We believe this is more effective [than femtocells].”

Mike Dano with Fierce Wireless wrote that T-Mobile has approximately 5 millions Wi-Fi Calling users today, with about 1.25 million on the new Android version of the service.

In Total Telecom’s piece, “Wi-Fi Offload?  There’s an app for that,” Mary Lennighan quotes Mr. Lonn saying: “We’re putting [coverage] on the device side rather than something that plugs into the wall.”

Network World’s Nancy Gohring’s trend piece on ‘small cells’ on femtocells and Wi-Fi covered both sides of the debate.  But T-Mobile’s quote hit the nail on the head. “Wi-Fi is robust.  Why do something as complicated as a femto?” questioned Mr. Lonn.

But it was TMoNews that really summed up the situation, writing “Personally, I believe T-Mobile hit a home run with the Wi-Fi Calling service over that of a femtocell.”

I couldn’t agree more.

T-Mobile: The Wi-Fi Calling Carrier!

At T-Mobile's investor relations day in New York, new CEO Philip Humm, CTO Neville Ray and CMO Cole Brodman made this presentation.  While there are many fascinating facts, for those of us at the Smart Wi-Fi blog, we were drawn to slide 54.  Given the (moderate) controversy about  T-Mobile and femtocells this week, I think we know one thing for sure:

T-Mobile is the Wi-Fi Calling Carrier!

Or said another way, it's unlikely that T-Mobile will drop Wi-Fi Calling in favor of femtocells.  They may choose to add femtocells to their coverage portfolio, but one might want to ask why?

Slide 41 - "Wi-Fi coverage to bolster in-home coverage and broadband"
Slide 44 - "Wi-Fi provides improved coverage and offloads capacity"
Slide 54 - "Broad portfolio across all Android and BlackBerry smartphones"

T-Mobile Femtocells: Yes, No, Maybe

Earlier this week Michelle Donegan at Light Reading reported that an unnamed source at the operator confirmed that "the carrier will have 3G femtocells as part of its product portfolio in 2011".

As one might expect, the post was light on details - there was no timeframe and no vendors because T-Mobile was 'still in the process of selecting them.'

Then today, Kevin Fitchard at Connected Planet posted that "T-Mobile USA has no plans to offer a femtocell and will continue to focus on its dual-mode Wi-Fi fixed mobile convergence strategy," adding "at least that's what we're hearing from T-Mobile."

I think the answer is clear:  a definite maybe.

It's a blog, so let's speculate:  Why T-Mobile would want to offer a femtocell:
Everyone else is.  ATT, VZW, Sprint all have a femtocell, they don't want to be left out.  Undoubtedly there are T-Mobile customers who would be willing to pay for a femtocell to get better coverage at home.

Why T-Mobile wouldn't want to offer a femtocell:
It's not at all clear that people want a femtocell service - especially if they have to pay for it.  Of course, some do, but recall that earlier this year the Femto Forum announced that there were 'more femtocells in the US than macro cell towers'.  They pegged the number at 350,000 units.

Let's do some math.  Between the three largest carriers in the US, servicing some 230,000,000 subscribers, they have managed to sell (or give away) 350,000 femtocells - or about 0.1%.  No wonder 2010 was the 'year of the femtocell', or was it 2009, or 2008..., or maybe it will be 2011.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile seems to be rocking the Smart Wi-Fi.  It's part of their hottest selling '4G' phones the MyTouch 4G and Google G2.  Plus with Wi-Fi installed in an estimated 50,000,000 homes in the US, Smart Wi-Fi has a HUGE head start when it comes to installed base.

T-Mobile Launches Motorola Cliq 2 with Wi-Fi Calling

Somehow I manged to squeeze in to the Motorola stand at CES last week.

The stand was jam packed with people there to see the new Motorola tablet, zoom.

But equaly popular were Motorola's lineup of Android phones, including the Cliq2.

The phone I found shows T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling app pre-loaded on the desktop.

Great news for T-Mobile and Wi-Fi Calling enthusiasts.

Wi-Fi Calling Contest Winners

We had great fun around the office recently judging the videos submitted for our Wi-Fi Calling video contest. The creative and earnest messages really impressed us, and it was hard to decide who would win new Android smartphones. We had put a call out for videos from people who love or need Wi-Fi calling, how and where they use it, or how it's changed their lives. We asked people to capture their enthusiasm and passion for Wi-Fi calling/UMA, and did they ever! Some of them truly made me laugh out loud.

We ask our three lucky winners to send us their wish lists of new Android smartphones, and we are sending each of them one of their top choice phones:

• Caleb Greenwood's Not Just Calling, Wifi Calling
• Hunter Lyon's Wi-Fi Calling Rap
• Robert Holloway's Wi-Fi Kidnapping Thriller

Maybe it was the holiday spirit, but we found it difficult to pare down the submissions to just three. We were feeling generous, so we took it a little further and awarded two more winners with honorable mentions. Kaya Smith and Jacob Garcia both get their choice of an LG Optimus or Motorola Defy.

On top of all that, we also awarded an Android to one winner of our simultaneous Twitter contest. Congratulations to @android_flash.

Congratulations to all our winners. Haven't watched the videos yet? Go check them out at WiFiCalling.net. Which one is your favorite? Let us know what you think in the comments here or tweet us @kinetowireless.

Orange UK launches LG Optimus with Signal Booster

Yesterday the LG Optimus appeared on the Orange UK website.  It's the first Android phone which supports Orange UK's "Signal Boost" feature which is based on UMA Technonology.

At press time, the phone was listed as having a talk time of 29.1 days... I'm sure that's supposed to be standby time, and I'm pretty sure it's not 29 days... but hey - there's no doubt that UMA powerful stuff.

The LG Optimus was released at T-Mobile US a couple weeks ago with the same UMA technology, albeit under the commercial name Wi-Fi Calling.

The Optimus is part of a new category of low-cost Android-powered smartphones.  The phone is free with a two year commitment at both Orange and T-Mobile.

Wi-Fi Calling Comes to T-Mobile Android

Today's the day...T-Mobile is now selling four phones with Wi-Fi Calling. Finally.

With today's big push is around '4G', it turns out that T-Mobile's two flagship 4G phones both support Wi-Fi Calling.

The MyTouch 4G comes with Wi-Fi Calling pre-loaded on the handset.

The G2, the other phone in the '4G' launch, gets Wi-Fi Calling added as an 'over the air' update occuring over the next week.

In addition, two of T-Mobile's entry level Android phones are available with Wi-Fi Calling.

The LG Optimus (free with 2 year contract) and the Motorola Defy ($99 with 2 year contract) are both available with Wi-Fi Calling.

Today's the day - taking Wi-Fi and Android to the next level.

Video Contest for UMA, Wi-Fi Calling Fans

If you read this blog, chances are you're a fan of Smart Wi-Fi, powered by UMA. We're trying to harness the power of the excitement of people like you with a new video contest for anyone who loves, needs or craves being able to make calls over Wi-Fi on their smartphones.

Submit your story in a short video to WiFiCalling.net, and you could win one of three new Android smartphones. 



The contest is open to participants worldwide, especially those who use T-Mobile USA’s Wi-Fi Calling, Orange’s Unik or Unique, Rogers’ Talkspot, Cincinnati Bell’s Home Run as well as people who don’t have such a service but wish they did.

We're accepting video submissions at WiFiCalling.net through November 30. On December 15, we'll announce three winners, and each will get a new Android smartphone (exact phone to be determined at time of announcement).

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Everything Everywhere talks Smart Wi-Fi

Everything Everywhere, the new powerhouse operator in the UK created by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, held an investor conference on September 28th.
In laying out their strategy for market domination, we happened to notice that UMA (aka Smart Wi-Fi) was to play a role.
This isn't that much of a surprise, given Orange UK has been quietly selling a UMA service for some time.  But Orange has been mum on the service...until now.  They are seeing how smart Wi-Fi can be used to help them provide everything to everyone everywhere their customers spend the most time -- the home and office.