VoIP-friendly Wi-Fi Access Points as Step Toward Converged Services

ABI: That holy grail of wireless/IP convergence, the seamless handoff of a dual-mode phone call from a Wi-Fi network to a cellular network, is still a rare phenomenon in most places. But we are taking small steps towards it now, in the form of a new class of specialized Wi-Fi access points designed to support voice-over-IP. Connected to a VoIP network and phone service, these access points provide VoIP's cheaper services to cellular phone users within range of their Wi-Fi transmitters. They may also offer better-than-cellular indoor coverage. If the user leaves the zone of Wi-Fi coverage, and if (but only if) his or her mobile operator supports such services, these devices will also hand off calls from Wi-Fi to cellular. Motorola's recently-announced RSG system, expected by late this year, exemplifies the trend. If such products prove successful it will validate the idea and the importance of voice-over-Wi-Fi. Even a system providing a limited service, without operator-supported handoffs, offers rewards in the form of cheaper calls and better indoor coverage. If these VoIP/Wi-Fi access products enjoy considerable market success, that would also support forecasts of a boom in dual-mode cellular/VoWi-Fi devices. Voice over Wi-Fi: Market Dynamics for Enterprise and Consumer VoWi-Fi, and Dual-mode Cellular/VoWi-Fi Handsets VoIP? Wikipeida Publ 20060130