Sprint is expanding its Airave femtocell offering to all customers nationwide and retooling its price plans for the in-home wireless technology. Starting Aug. 17, Sprint customers will be able to purchase the Airave femtocell, which is made by Samsung, at Sprint stores nationwide for $99.99. To get the additional coverage, they must pay an extra $4.99 per month. Customers that do not have an unlimited voice plan, can get unlimited in-home calling from Sprint by subscribing to the optional Airave Unlimited Voice plan for $10 per month for individuals or $20 per month for families.
Sprint is calling the femtocell a "mini cell tower" and positioning it as a competitor to the T-Mobile@Home service which launched in late June. That offering, which costs customers $10 per month, plus the $50 fee for the router, lets customers use WiFi to make calls when in the home and the cellular network when away from the home. The Airave uses Sprint's CDMA network and is compatible with all Sprint CDMA phones, however it won't work with iDEN handsets.
Sprint initially debuted the Airave in two markets--Denver and Indianapolis--last September. At that time, the company charged an additional $15 per month for individuals and $30 per month for subscribers with family plans. The Airave itself cost $49.99 at Sprint stores.
For more:
- see this press release