American wireless giant T-Mobile introduced DIGITS allowing users to use multiple phone numbers on one device and one number on multiple devices.
The limited customer beta launch of this innovative technology ends the century-old telecom limit of one number locked to one phone.
T-Mobile customers can sign up to participate in the DIGITS limited beta for free. This is the first time a major US mobile carrier has debuted a new technology through a beta program.
With DIGITS, T-Mobile number works across all your connected devices — phones, tablets, wearables and computers. DIGITS allows customers to put multiple T-Mobile numbers on the same device and combine work, home and personal numbers on a single smartphone.
DIGITS is already built natively into the newest Samsung smartphones such as Note 5 and Galaxy S6 and later. Once customers get an extra set of DIGITS from T-Mobile, they can open up the dialer and pick the number they want to use.
T-Mobile is working with other device makers to integrate DIGITS natively into their devices. Until then, DIGITS is available through an app on Apple’s App Store and Google Play as well as via browsers on PCs or Mac computers.
“DIGITS works just like your T-Mobile phone number, except it is way more powerful. DIGITS works across virtually ALL your devices, and those devices can have multiple numbers on them. You can even use DIGITS on Verizon, AT&T and other smartphones,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile.
DIGITS prioritizes calls from your phone over other data so calls are more reliable with crystal clear HD voice quality and full mobility.
“This isn’t the first time you can add extra numbers to a device, but this IS the first time you can do it all – multiple numbers on one device and one number on multiple devices – and do it with carrier-grade quality,” said Mike Sievert, chief operating officer of T-Mobile.
DIGITS will also let you put multiple numbers on one device – and seamlessly switch back and forth between your numbers. More than 30 million Americans carry multiple devices. If you juggle identical phones with work and personal numbers, you can stop paying for two devices, two plans and two times the network access fees – a practice that costs US wireless customers an extra $10 billion every year.
Businesses can give their employees DIGITS to use on their personal smartphones – even if those phones are on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
Businesses can save millions spent on desk phones and give employees and customers a better experience with DIGITS. You can share DIGITS among employees. Your sales team can get both calls and texts to your company’s sales line. If an employee leaves, the business can keep the employee’s DIGITS number along with any business contacts and relationships.
T-Mobile’s engineers built a new IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service management layer and Identity Management solution. Instead of authenticating devices through SIM cards, DIGITS gives customers their own identity.
“Our team dug deep into the technology needed to free us from the one number one phone limit. And to do it right, we built a solution into the core of our network that breaks all the old telco rules,” said Neville Ray, chief technology officer of T-Mobile.
