T-Mobile Offers Wi-Fi Calling to Corporate BlackBerry Users
Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:35 pm
T-Mobile plans to offer a Wi-Fi calling service for corporate users that automatically switches BlackBerry devices to its cellular network if users move out of a hotspot zone during an Internet call.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based company said its "Wi-Fi Calling with MobileOffice" service allows its customers to cancel their landline phones, saving money on calls.
Unlike rival AT&T, which tries to protect its traditional landline business, T-Mobile is a completely wireless operator that would not cannibalize fixed-line revenue.
T-Mobile, the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, has been struggling in recent years, competing with Sprint and smaller carriers for lower-profit prepaid subscribers while AT&T and Verizon have attracted valuable contract-signing customers.
The company has increased spending, such as its 4G network expansion, to catch up in the high-end corporate segment.
Last month, reports surfaced that Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile, was considering a bid for Sprint in a deal that could merge both struggling businesses into one.
T-Mobile currently offers a similar residential service, called T-Mobile @Home, for unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi calling at home.
