The last few years have brought a new kind of high-tech convenience to our devices: Many phones can now translate conversations in real time, without a human translator in the middle. Using the Google Translate app on an Android phone or Apple AirPods Pro 3 connected to an iPhone, it's possible to overcome language barriers.
But not every person owns a phone that can support live translation, or has the time or bandwidth to install an app (and maybe commit to a subscription).
T-Mobile wants to remove any obstacles that stand in the way of you talking to someone on a phone call. It has live translation at the network level, so even if you own a basic dumb phone, you can talk to someone who speaks one of over 50 languages with the help of T-Mobile's network AI agent.
Starting today, T-Mobile is opening up registration for a beta of its upcoming Live Translation call feature, which will begin testing in the spring. It's open to subscribers of any post-paid T-Mobile plan, such as the Essentials, Experience More, Experience Beyond and Better Value plans.
"We want to make voice cool again," said John Saw, T-Mobile chief technology officer, citing that its customers make 6 billion international calls per year, and 40% of those people travel internationally. "Live translation is a real breakthrough in innovation by introducing the latest AI models into our voice network."
Just as it did during the beta of what became the T-Satellite service, T-Mobile has not yet decided which plans will include the live translation calling feature. It also hasn't decided what, if any, cost there will be. T-Satellite is currently included in the Experience Beyond and Better Value plans and available on other plans as a $10 add-on. It's also open to customers of other providers for $10 a month.
I haven't tried T-Mobile's live translation but I look forward to testing it soon.
How live translation will work
You have to dial *87* to turn on T-Mobile's live translation calling tool. Kevin Heinz/CNET
To turn on live translation during a call, the T-Mobile subscriber presses *87* (star-eight-seven-star), which activates the AI agent. Only one participant on the call needs to be a T-Mobile subscriber, and it will also work when the customer is roaming.
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