America’s fourth-largest cell phone carrier, T-Mobile USA, has announced plans to launch a nationwide fixed-line telephone service, based on VoIP technology, and similar to that of Vonage Holdings Corp.

T-Mobile AtHome, set to be available on July 2, will cost just $10 per month for T-Mobile subscribers with a cell phone plan costing $40/month or more. Customers can use their existing landline telephone, but need to purchase a special broadband phone router, at a cost of $50.

The AtHome service will be targeted towards customers that are reluctant to “cut the cord” and use mobile service only, but don’t want to maintain a costly landline subscription.

Up until now, T-Mobile’s customers in the U.S. have had to purchase their landline service from a separate carrier because, unlike larger rivals like AT&T and Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA does not have its own traditional landline telephone business. The new service will allow customers to “bundle” their landline and cell phone services on a single bill, to save money.

‘’Clearly there’s a big opportunity for us to give T-Mobile customers an incentive not to be on competitive landline service,`’ commented Robert Dotson, the CEO of T-Mobile USA.