Calling all connections --net2phone
Alphabet soup of options spells industry upheaval
By BRUCE MEYERSON
Associated Press
April 20, 2005 1:20 AM CDT
(Net2Phone will launch its next-generation WiFi phone, the XJ200, in a couple of months. “Subscribers will be able to use one device for both cellular and WiFi connectivity,” says Goldberg.)
thetimesonline.com
web.net2phone.com
NEW YORK | What do you get when you combine Voice over Internet telephony, Wi-Fi wireless access and cell phones?
Aside from an acronym-induced headache, you get yet another new telephone technology with the potential to shake an industry already whipsawed by tectonic change.
That may sound a tad dramatic, especially coming from a business known for tall predictions. Skeptics say it remains entirely unclear how and when VoIP, or Voice-over-Internet-Protocol phone service, will intertwine with cell phones and wireless Internet access -- or whether any part of the business will suffer as a result.
And yet the appeal is obvious.
Imagine how nice it would be if you're talking on a cell phone when you arrive at home or the office and the call doesn't cut off or turn fuzzy when you step inside. Instead, the call passes without interruption from the cellular network to the wireless Internet signal inside the building, as imperceptible to the user as when a call gets passed from one cell tower to the next.
Would that be the magic bullet that persuades more people to discard their old-fangled phone lines and go all-cellular? For those who've already replaced their regular phone service with VoIP, would there be less of a reason to keep two phone numbers if a cell can pull double duty?
Opinions vary, of course. At this point, the pros can't even agree on what to call this technological mixture, with possible names ranging from VoWF and Vi-Fi to bigger mouthfuls like wVoIP, VoWiFi and VoWLAN.
Nevertheless, few players in telecommunications doubt that the industry's fastest-growing sectors are destined to converge.
Top equipment makers are already placing bets on the outcome, including Motorola Corp., Nokia Corp., Siemens AG and Alcatel SA. So are a growing number of cellular service providers, mindful that upstarts are already running trials on mobile VoIP, yet apprehensive about the impact on profits.
Many of these companies collaborated on a new standard, Unlicensed Mobile Access, that governs the handoff of phone calls between cell towers and Wi-Fi access points. In February, UMA was adopted by an industry body that sets standards based on GSM, one of the world's two dominant cell technologies. Standards groups are also adapting a network technology called IMS, for IP Multimedia Services, for passing phone calls between cellular and Wi-Fi networks.
UMA trials are underway with two cellular operators in Europe and one in United States, according to Steven Shaw, director of marketing for Kineto Wireless Inc., a provider of UMA network and handset software.
So far, only two UMA-enabled handsets have been announced, both by relatively unknown device makers. But recent announcements by Royal Philips Electronics NV and Texas Instruments Inc. that they're making integrated cellular/Wi-Fi chipsets are a sure sign of demand from cellular operators.
These developments likely won't translate into full-blown VoIP-enabled cell phones until at least later this year, if that soon. But as an interim step, simpler renditions of wireless VoIP are already available.
On the most basic level, the collision of VoIP and wireless can mean little more than a souped-up version of the cordless phone: The wireless signal is carried between a cordless handset and a Wi-Fi router connected to a high-speed Internet line rather than a base station plugged into a phone jack.
Net2Phone Inc. has been selling a $175 wireless VoIP handset to go with its VoiceLine service since October. VoIP leader Vonage Holdings Corp. plans to follow suit later this year with a lower-priced handset.
While these devices don't provide cellular's freedom to wander afar, the combination of wireless and VoIP can be far more potent than a mere cordless phone.
The Net2Phone handset can be configured to connect with more than one router, so a customer can use the same device and VoIP phone number at multiple locations, such as both home and work, and any other noncommercial wireless hot spot. Vonage plans to add compatibility with Wi-Fi services sold at retail locations such as coffee shops and airports. |
