According to Cord Cutters News, T-Mobile Home Internet will soon be expanding its national footprint. But there’s at least one notable gotcha for the cord cutting crowd in search of streaming television options.
From T-Mobile’s ISP terms:
Not compatible with some live TV streaming services.
Unfortunately, it’s not entirely clear what T-Mobile is communicating. Is this a technical limitation of their LTE that could lift once it goes 5G, a policy intended to ensure bandwidth for all, an anti-competitive practice (as a television service provider), or merely alluding to streaming service’s regional and contractual content blackouts.
I’ve reached out to T-Mobile’s Media Relations team for clarification, but have yet to hear back. In any event, we’ve been down this path before and home-based cellular may be better than DSL in many cases and a boon in under-served areas, but T-Mobile Home Internet likely won’t compare favorably to cable and fiber performance… further exacerbated by content limitations.
UPDATE 2/28: T-Mobile has provided the following comment, which really doesn’t tell us much nor provide reassurances that they’re working the issue with problematic providers.
Most live TV services will work with T–Mobile Home Internet, but it’s best that customers check with their chosen live TV streaming provider to make sure.
(T-Mobile router photo courtesy of The Gadgeteer)