Sprint Airave sees limited release

Judging by the tremendous response that our last story on this service received (it's still one of the "most read" stories on our site after a solid month), more than a few of you are excited about Sprint's Airave service. In case you've forgotten exactly what it is that you're excited about, here's a recap: Airave is Sprint's in-home signal booster (call it an "ubicell" or "femtocell" if you must)--a piece of hardware that functions much like T-Mobile's HotSpot @ Home service, routing mobile calls over your home Internet connection. Unlike HotSpot @ Home, however, Airave uses CDMA technology, which means that it supports just about any Sprint handset (T-Mobile's service requires a dual-mode handset to work).

The latest news is that Airave has finally gone live...if you live in either Denver or Indianapolis, that is. The box itself will run you $50 but it promises unlimited free calls from your home, as long as you pay that $15/month service fee ($30 for families). Not a bad deal if you use your mobile as your one-and-only phone line--especially since cellular reception in the home isn't always what it should be. Sprint's Airave service is available now in Denver and Indianapolis and should be arriving in Nashville shortly. Look for it to hit those other 47 states sometime next year.

For more on the Airave:
- see this press release