T-mobile allows cheaper calls through Internet

T-mobile has come up with a new concept to allow reduction of call plans overall cost, by allowing the use of alternative calling networks. What does that mean ? For a T-mobile user, if they have bought one of the 2 new handsets, and are either in a home wireless network or a Wi-Fi hotspot, they can move to using that mode of Internet access for their phones. This will typically prove to be much cheaper than the costing of a regular call plan.
Another plus promised in this new service (T-Mobile HotSpotAtHome) is the ability to get a much better coverage inside homes, something that a lot of customers typically complain about:

The service is the first time a cell phone carrier is using Wi-Fi to make calls. That could lead to a shift in the cellular industry as more operators begin to build dual-mode technology into phones, allowing people to cut down the cost of voice minutes.
To get HotSpotAtHome, T-Mobile customers will need to buy one of two $49 phones that can switch between cellular and Wi-Fi calls. In addition to paying for broadband, they will need to pay for the calling service, which can be added to cell phone service initially at $9.99 a month for unlimited Wi-Fi calls. After mid-September, customers will pay $19.99 a month to add the Wi-Fi service.. Family plans for up to five phones are available now for $19.99, then go up to $29.99 in September.

The handset is new, but the wireless router at home can be an existing router. There is switching between when a customer is making the call in a Wi-Fi area and then moves outside this network and onto the regular cellular network. People who have tested this service have found that it works well.

US to launch Internet router into space

And no, this is not part of a global plan to take Interent communication into the space age :-). The idea is that the US Department of Defense will send a satellite, integrated with the internet router, into space in the first quarter of 2009. The software for the on-board router will be designed by Cisco (and Cisco can now claim that its routers belong to the space age), while SEAKR Engineering (based out of Denver) will manufacture the space router and integrate it into the satellite.
The purpose of the project, called Internet Routing in Space (IRIS), will allow voice, video and data communication for US troops. But as always with military technology, we can eventually expect that this ability will be available to non-military users with the passage of time. The internet, after all, grew out of a military programme.