T-Mobile Offering Miniature Cell Towers for Your Home

Starting Wednesday, T-Mobile customers can get their hands on their very own miniature cell tower to boost the signal inside their homes, USA Today reports. T-Mobile claims the new CellSpot— which plugs into customers' Internet routers—creates 3,000 square feet of full-bar 4G LTE coverage for all T-Mobile phones. But the Washington Post says people shouldn't rush out to their nearest T-Mobile store just yet. According to the paper, the "vast majority" of customers would be better off just using WiFi.

The CellSpot has to be plugged into an Internet connection from another company and largely duplicates service customers would be getting from their WiFi anyway, the Post reports. In fact, T-Mobile already introduced a similar product last year that lets customers make WiFi calls and texts, according to USA Today. T-Mobile claims the 4G LTE service provided by the CellSpot is faster and more reliable than WiFi. But the Post reports the CellSpot is only as fast as a customer's existing broadband connection and will use up their data plan, unlike regular WiFi. Regardless, T-Mobile customers can get a CellSpot for free with a $25 refundable deposit. (More T-Mobile stories.)