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Comment by trotsky | Hacker News Reader

I wish tmo wasn't the only major carrier without a 3g femtocell option. I can't even get tmobile 2g at my house.

I could easily overlook this if they rolled out UMA (aka Generic Network Access) on all handsets. Its been the saving grace for me on my Blackberry, especially in large convention centers with poor cell reception. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_Access_Network

yeah. seems they've basically abandoned uma though. speculation is uma cannabalizes their 3g.

The U.S. arm of the German phone giant is a big supporter of Google’s Android OS, and last week, when I asked a T-Mobile USA representative if there were plans to add UMA to Android phones, he said T-Mobile will continue to support UMA on the current and forthcoming BlackBerry devices and Nokia E73. That’s four models in total. In other words, T-Mobile has no plans on adding UMA to Android phones.

http://gigaom.com/2010/09/13/is-t-mobile-backing-away-from-u...

I've also heard the abandonment attributed to lower overall fees from usage, especially say, when traveling.

The G2 got WiFi calling added with its first official firmware update, FWIW. I'd imagine the new Nexus will likely support this as well, nevermind the fact that 2.3 supports native SIP calling.

Really? Is this something different from UMA - tmobiles wifi based femto like service - that would be perfect for me but it seems they aren't putting it in new handsets anymore. Unless the G2 got UMA? That would be awesome.

Or does tmobile have some sort of official VOIP service now that allows you to receive calls on your cell # if you are up on wifi but aren't on the carrier network?

I know I could use gv+sip provider to get voice at home but at least in my mind the femto setup we have with verizon is nice - low muss, works with feature phones, people who visit etc. Well you can't have everything.

Wifi calling on the G2 is UMA based, AFAIK. Even works with your existing router, unlike the earlier T-Mo stuff where they wanted you to buy their router to do it. They've dropped the extra monthly charge for using it, as well, though it does still use plan minutes.

Sound quality is a little worse than 3G calling, IME, but it works very well. It's been handy in my office where T-Mo signal is a little spotty. (Yet, I step outside the front door and have 5 bars ;)).

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