T-Mobile launches wireless home phone service

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wireless provider T-Mobile USA on Wednesday unveiled a service aimed at customers who want to stop paying landline bills but are reluctant to entirely abandon their home phones and phone numbers.

T-Mobile, the No. 4 U.S. mobile provider, said it was launching a $10-per-month plan in which its wireless customers can disconnect their existing home phone service and instead install a wireless router for an additional one-time charge of $50.

The "T-Mobile @Home" service could help spur a departure from landline phones by encouraging customers who like the idea of keeping their old numbers and sharing a phone with family to finally "cut the chord," said the company, which is the U.S. wireless unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE).

"We found that a lot of families don't want to get rid of their home phone," said Britt Wehrman, director of product development at T-Mobile.

He said many consumers, especially families, feel safer in having a home phone. For example, a couple would likely feel more secure if they knew they could reach their babysitter at the usual home number, he said.

At the same time, one in six U.S. consumers have already disconnected their landlines, and that trend is likely to continue, Wehrman said.

"We're happy to take advantage of that trend," he said.

Customers must sign a two-year service agreement and will need a broadband Internet connection as well as a touch-tone phone, T-Mobile said. The service will be available beginning July 2.

By porting existing phone numbers to the new service, customers can keep their old numbers. T-Mobile estimates that the new service will save the average customer more than $50 a month, or $600 a year.