Sprint is getting ready to launch to launch their Airave signal booster on July 15th. The box, which should be available from your local Sprint store for $99, plugs into your broadband router, providing you with an added signal boost aided by your home internet connection. The service, similar to T-Mobile’s Hotspot@Home, is targeted at folks that live in a fringe coverage area, but are still tied to a Sprint account for whatever reason. It’s a decent proposition, but we’re pretty sure that the pricing scheme will place it out of reach for most casual users. The service will run you $15/month on an individual plan and $30/month, but the real kicker is that it’s rumored to require an unlimited calling plan to function. Not good. Unlike T-Mobile’s service, Airave broadcasts an actual cell signal, so it should work with all handsets, not just those equipped with Wi-Fi. The bad news, however, is that the device actually has an embedded aGPS chip to determine whether you’re currently located in a country with Sprint service, effectively squashing our dreams of yapping from Mongolia on your Sprint phone. Thanks, Sprint.
