25 October 2006

T-Mobile USA has begun offering a service that allows people to use their mobile phones to talk over T-Mobile's cellular network as well as wi-fi networks.

The new service, called T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, is currently only available in Seattle and is the first of its kind in the US. It is likely to be viewed as a test case by other operators looking to develop similar services.

The benefit of the service for consumers is that it allows them to conserve their mobile phone minutes while they are within one of T-Mobile's hotspots or within range of any other wi-fi hotspot that doesn't require authentication.