WiFi - The Future of VoIP?

Thanks to all of you who attended my Seminar on the Future of VoIP hosted by the BIZTECH network in Milton Keynes on the 1st of November 2007.

VoIP telephony is set to soar as the next-generation of high speed wireless networks grow over the coming year. The struggle for the future of telephony between mobile operators and wireless service providers is set to intensify.

Mobile operators are pushing forward their networks including 3G+, and HSxPA. Wireless service providers armed with WiFi, and the emerging WiMAX standards face them across the battle lines. The future will belong to those operators and service providers that can effectively harness these networks to provide multiple-play (voice, video, mobile, TV, advertising, and entertainment) services to customers.

The key differences between each network technology relates to frequency, bandwidth, range, latency, interoperability, and license cost for the service provider. In order to provide a quality VoIP call networks not only have to provide higher bandwidth – they have to be able to prioritize that call above data traffic. That requires a next-generation network like Britezone that can handle Quality-of-Service automatically.

Assuming your network can provide Quality-of-Service there are two types of dual mode mobile handsets (WiFi / GSM) that can perform mobile VoIP telephony over WiFi networks. Nokia N and E–series high end phones such as the N95, N80ie, E65, or E90 are equipped to do this. They require a manual switch-over between the WiFi network and the GSM network. That means if you are on a call and raom between a WiFi and GSM network, the line will drop. Dual mode phones that can switch-over automatically between GSM and WiFi networks will grow in the coming months. That also requires the mobile network to enable automatic handoff from their network. Today BT Fusion mobile and T-Mobile offer handsets that are suitable.

If you don’t have a dual mode mobile you could use a WiFi-only handset such as the Simply WiFi TA 100. This device has the advantage of not draining your mobile phone battery down while making a WiFi call. And with a USB connection you can charge the device easily from your laptop.

Given that according to Motorola more than 30 per cent of business GSM calls are made indoors, as well as some 70 per cent of 3G data traffic transmissions there is a tremendous opportunity to slash your phone bills by making more of your phone call over WiFi. The tariffs available can be up to 95% cheaper than on a GSM network. Increasingly this will create a major challenge to operators that offer only the mobile network. Also you can now connect to a public access WiFi zones using dual band WiFi “routers” from your home or office. These can act as an access point and client to a public WiFi zone. For example in central Milton Keynes residents living close to the Britezone network are using these devices not only to provide a wireless broadband network from home, but stay connected online anywhere else in the city’s growing Britezone areas.

With the launch of the WiFi enabled Apple iPhone in the UK on the 9th of November we expect to see a great increase in the number of people using WiFi as their preferred telephony service. Why? I will explain more in my next Blog on the future of WiFi telephony.

Thanks to all of you!