T-Mobile’s upcoming TV service may be just around the corner, if a new FCC filing is any indication: A set-top box likely built for the service surfaced in a filing made by Kaonmedia, a company that previously build set-top boxes for T-Mobile’s Layer3 TV subsidiary.
The box is branded with T-Mobile’s T logo, and is being called the “T-Mobile Mini” in a manual included with the filing. The FCC label of the device still is Layer3 TV-branded.
Spokespeople for T-Mobile and Layer3 TV didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
There’s little to gather from the manual about the exact functionality of the device, but photos show that it features HDMI pass-through, which may be used to incorporate third-party streaming devices or game consoles without the need to switch back and forth between different TV inputs.
The device also seems to offer an Ethernet port as well as a USB port for manual software updates. There is no notable Coax input, suggesting that the device is meant to receive TV programming over the internet as opposed to traditional cable infrastructure –a departure from Layer3 TV’s more cable-centric approach.
Test reports included with the filing suggest that it comes with 802.11ac Wifi connectivity as well as Bluetooth LE, with the latter likely being used for its remote control.
T-Mobile acquired Layer3 for $325 million about a year ago with the stated goal of building out its own internet-based TV service. T-Mobile COO Mike Sievert said in August that the company was planning to launch the new service before the end of the year.
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