T-Mobile presents a no credit check version of its 5G home internet

T-Mobile announced a new plan for its 5G home internet service, which will not need applicants to experience a credit check. The prepaid service will be T-Mobile's Metro branded and customers will be allowed to sign up at Metro retail stores. This offers a prepaid option to T-Mobile's $50 a month service, which has no data caps or contracts, which would be attractive to users who don't have great internet options available from traditional ISPs.

It's nice to see T-Mobile offer an option that doesn't need credit approval (especially given the state of credit reporting in the US). However, there are a few major bugs worth pointing out if you're testing the service. With the non-Metro postpaid plan, the T-Mobile router is included in the $50/month price (with autopay), but with the Metro option, you'll need to pay $99 upfront. You must also have "one or more voice lines" to sign up, which is not a need for the postpaid option.

There are also a few other asterisks that are shared between the Metro and non-Metro versions of T-Mobile's 5G home internet. The biggest is that you have to live at an eligible address, which not everyone will do. You might also see slower internet speeds if T-Mobile's network is busy, and you'll have to pay an extra $5 a month if you don't want to use autopay.

Coming to the internet speed, equipment and price, Metro customers will get the same experience as T-Mobile's postpaid 5G home internet customers, according to an email to The Verge from T-Mobile spokeswoman Elizabeth Seelinger.

T-Mobile's 5G home internet certainly has its naysayers. Comcast's CEO has poked fun at it, though it's easy to imagine some ulterior motives there. It also didn't work very well for me when I tried it for a month, although it's quite possible that others may have more luck than me; in fact, many commenters praised it. In my review, I suggested that people go out and try it out to see if it worked for them since T-Mobile doesn't force you to sign a contract or pay activation fees. Both of those things are also true for the Metro version, but the $100 gateway charge that's locked onto T-Mobile's network makes it much less of a "just try it" transaction. That makes it hard for me to fully praise T-Mobile for this new deal; I'd hate to see someone switch to it, find out it doesn't work very well for them, and then be a bit disoriented.

Still, at the end of the day, I'm happy to see that the traditional ISPs are getting some competition, even if it's from companies that dominate in another very established market. And it's nice to see that T-Mobile offers an option for those who can't or don't want to go through a credit check. I wish there weren't so many asterisks.

Disclaimer: The above content is taken from TheVerge, except headline the content has not been modified by The Hans India staff. Tags: T-Mobile, 5G