WiFi Mobile Carrier
August 13th, 2008
As I posted a few weeks back, I switched my mobile carrier from Sprint to T-Mobile. With the switch I purchased a Nokia 6301 unit. I spend most of the time in our basement because that’s my room. It’s an underground basement and network signal from any mobile carrier is very faint or nil. Most of the time, I had to go to a spot in order to get a signal. It’s frustrating especially if I’m expecting an urgent call. Thanks to T-Mobile and Nokia, my problem is solved.
I’m probably behind in the knowledge of this technology, but let me document it here anyway. T-Mobile has a service called HotSpot where if you have the service, you can use T-Mobile WiFi hotspots as your network connection. You may call it VoIP plus all the capabilities (WAP/SMS/MMS) of a mobile phone minus the wires. T-Mobile advertises the service by informing you that you can only use their hotspot, thus you have to pay for the service. I had to conduct an experiment before posting this.
After a few weeks of observation, I’m convinced that I can use any available WiFi network that will provide my cellphone an IP address and internet connection without signing up for the T-Mobile HotSpot service. I have my cellphone configured such that anytime it is on the range of my home network, it’ll connect to it. That means I have a very clear signal in my basement. Also in the mall where nobody seems to get any signal, T-Mobile provides a free hotspot — that’s the case in the mall where we frequent anyway.
I can’t say about other carriers and cellphone units because I didn’t sign up on T-Mobile simply because of this capability. As a matter of fact, I only realized this capability when I got home studying the phone. I’m really not a cellphone expert which explains my late discovery of this technology.
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Entry Filed under: Electronics
2 Comments Add your own
1. mhar said on
August 13th, 2008 at 2:36 PM
angaling naman, i only know how to hack downloadbles sa globe, pero wala ako wifi connection sa pad ko. hekhek… ok din kaya yang gawing modem ng pc kasi wifi capable naman eh. hmmm… uso na ba jan sa US ang wi-max?
2. aovaron said on
August 13th, 2008 at 8:27 PM
The cellphone uses my WiFi network at home to make calls, SMS, MMS instead of my carrier’s cell sites. My cellphone does not act as a modem at all, it’s the other way around. The cellphone is an end host.
WiMax has been available for a few years now. WiMax is more or less a WiFi in WAN. If I’m not mistaken, SmartBro is a WiMax. I’m not a big fan of wireless network and I have repeatedly published here, but I still serve wireless connection in the house. However, if I’m doing something hardcore, I have to be wired.
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