I really don’t want to switch to the Nexus 6 (too large) but I’d seriously consider switching from Republic Wireless to Google’s new Fi service for two main reasons:
1) Republic’s wi-fi calling is completely unencrypted over the WAN, where Google has promised theirs will be encrypted
2) Republic’s wi-fi calling has horrible audio latency, almost unusable. Google’s Voice and Hangouts services have typically had excellent latency (event though Republic’s parent company provides the Google Voice infrastructure!) so I’m hopeful that Google will get this right.
and three smaller reasons:
1) for my typical data usage, Fi will be slightly cheaper ($30 vs. $40). But that’s crushed by the more expensive phone ($650 vs. $300)
2) transparent failover between Sprint and T-Mobile (instead of just Sprint)
3) coverage outside of the continental US
But Fi has one big limitation:
1) Republic allows roaming to other CDMA networks (US Cellular, Verizon, etc). This makes a big difference in rural Wisconsin
Your WiFi Calling should be crystal clear and better than your cell coverage. Our parent company Bandwidth are the guys who power Google Voice, so if you’re experiencing anything different, please let us know! help@republicwireless.com
The observant reader may notice that Republic Wireless did not refute my complaints about latency or encryption in their reply. Yes, the Wi-Fi audio signal is indeed crystal clear. But it’s about 400ms late and crystal clear to anyone else who wants to eavesdrop.
Boohoo no coverage, nearest is over 150 miles away.
I just signed up for an invite… Alice is on Ting, which I love for the billing and customer service, but having the Sprint coverage map only is not awesome. I hadn’t realized the Nexus 6 is a $649 phone… thats a pretty hefty up-front fee.
400ms latency makes phone conversations quite awkward. My other VoIP pain point is the echos I commonly hear- having my own words of a fraction of a second earlier routed back to my ear makes it hard to form my next sentence.