iPhone good for cheap WiFi phone calls?

Today anyone wanting to drive down the cost of fixed line telephony can choose from a lot of Internet Phone (VoIP) options. But while fixed-line costs have come down mobile phones have lagged behind. So with new WiFi enabled Apple iPhone and WiFi Blackberry on the streets, is this about to change?

Paul Taylor wrote in the Financial Times How to ring the changes how any modern phone can be used to make cheaper mobile internet phone calls. But mobile internet calls are still somewhat more expensive than fixed-line broadband tariffs. That is unless you make calls from a free access WiFi zone. And with free WiFi at home, work, or any secure public WiFi hotspot, WiFi enabled handsets such as Apple iPhone, or Blackberry Curve could become the smart way to make cheaper mobile phone calls.

To make a WiFi call directly from both devices you will need a Softphone, a software phone client that provides an alternative keypad on the handset for a WiFi call. Currently this is not available on either device.

Users of Windows Mobile Pocket Pc handsets (manufactured by HTC for operators such as O2 and T Mobile) can already download a Pocket Pc Softphone directly onto their handset. This allows them to make cheap or free broadband phone calls over any WiFi network. The Vario (A new twist on the Vario) is a good option for use with a Pocket PC softphone.

Smartphones such as the Nokia 'N' and 'E' series allow you to set up a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) account directly with an internet phone service provider to make a WiFi phone call.

But setting up either your Windows Mobile Pocket PC handsets and to a lesser extent the Nokia smartphones for WiFi calling can be daunting if you have no experience of SIP or .Net compact framework. That is where Apple and Blackberry can make the difference.

iPhone and iPod 'Touch' Safari user interface is a step change in ease of use for mobile data. The impact is comparable to the way Blackberrys' addictive 'Push' email system changed the experience of mobile email a few years back. If a softphone client for the iPhone becomes available in the coming months, then saving money on mobile phone call costs could be a good reason to invest in the world’s latest must-have icon.

For a review of the iPhone see The Times Everything you ever wanted to know about the iPhone.

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!