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BREAKING NEWS & Selected WiMAX / WiFi Voice over IP News Articles
New VoIP-Enabled Roaming Client
2/2/2005 -- PCTel's new product permits users to make and get calls using the same number on cellular and IP networks.
PCTel Inc. has developed a VoIP-Enabled Roaming Client, which, when deployed with a compatible server, permits users to make and get calls using the same number on cellular and IP networks. Out of the gate, the roaming client operates over GSM and Wi-Fi networks. Later releases are expected to support CDMA standards.
The product supports connection management, profile management, Wi-Fi hot-spot authentication, and 802.1x/WPA security on wireless networks. It also has a Voice Dialer that operates on both cell and IP networks. One of the benefits the client has is that users have just one interface for sharing contacts and getting call histories.
The product will be available in the spring. The company didn't disclose pricing
1/3/2005 -- Internet phone calling, which is already rocking the traditional phone business, is poised to take on the cell phone industry later this year.
Vonage, the No. 1 Internet phone company, will unveil plans Tuesday to offer subscribers a wireless Wi-Fi phone that can make calls over the Internet at homes or at public Wi-Fi hot spots. For Vonage subscribers, the phone could amount to a kind of limited-use cell phone that would cost nothing extra.
Several smaller companies have introduced Wi-Fi phones in the USA at prices ranging from $130 to $750. But Vonage's move would mark the first mass-market rollout of the device at a lower price, probably around $100. "Our customers are asking for it," says Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron.
The service poses at least some threat to wireless carriers because Wi-Fi calls are effectively free, says TeleChoice analyst Daniel Briere. cell phone calls, by contrast, eat up a monthly bucket of minutes. The company plans to roll out the phone, made by UTStarcom, between April and June.
Solar Power Aircraft Will Make Wi-Fi Broadband Available To All
December 23, 2004, - An international project is developing new technology that can be installed into high altitude platforms - such as solar powered aircraft or airships - to make Broadband Internet access available to remote areas and moving trains. With the help of 3.1 million euros from the EU's Framework Programme, the CAPANINA project brings together 13 partners from across Europe and Japan and is named after the restaurant in Italy where initial discussions were held. It will develop the equipment to operate from aircraft or airships operating as 'High Altitude Platforms' (HAPs) that are permanently located in the sky. Placing these HAPs at an altitude of 20 kilometers - well above the flight path of normal aeroplanes but below satellites - will provide a cheaper and more efficient solution than those currently available, as they do not require underground cabling or masts.
"The HAPs technology is an interesting potential solution for delivering Broadband Internet to rural, suburban and other hard-to-reach areas," says Peter Walters, FP6UK National Contact Point for IST. "Demand for fast communication is increasing all over the world, and this technology offers an innovative way of delivering broadband inexpensively to people at home, in the office, and on the move.
"The opportunities offered by HAPs are exciting as they could deliver broadband connections which are 2,000 times faster than a traditional modem and 200 times faster than today's 'wired' ADSL broadband. HAPs are also easier to maintain than satellites as they can be periodically brought back to earth for upgrades and maintenance."
The project partners hope to achieve the first objective of CAPANINA - to deliver broadband connections to rural areas across Europe - within the next four years. Then they will look at delivering Broadband to moving trains using 'smart' antenna systems, that link with access points on the train. This will give passengers high-speed Internet connections from 'Wi-Fi' enabled lap-tops. "The development of these high altitude platforms offers an exciting and innovative solution to the likely communications problems of the future. They have more capacity, provide quicker and cheaper connections and have little impact on the environment."
Increased Availability of IP Phones Emphasizes Emergence of VoIP
December 15, 2004 -- According to an In-Stat/MDR research firm report called IP Phones and the Emerging VoIP Markets, as the VoIP market emerges, distinct market segments are taking shape. The study reveals that a wide variety of IP phones and other end point devices are being developed to offer access to current VoIP services and future integrated voice/data/video multimedia applications. We have all seen this segment of the market soar with the creation of hybrid devices that combine the power of cellular and WiFi networks connectivity combined. Analysts believe that as a result, IP phone shipments are expected to experience a 43 percent growth rate in 2004 alone.
"VoIP holds the promise of integrating voice communications with other technologies to create a set of customized and personalized applications," said Keith Nissen, a senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "Where today's services are associated with a connection or a device, VoIP services will be associated with the subscriber, and will be accessible from any device, anywhere, over wireline or wireless access networks."
WiMax: All-conquering 3G killer or white elephant niche player?
December 14 2004, - Mobile internet could go one of two ways... Wireless broadband technologies like - even if the big mobile firms get cold feet over the tech, new research claims. Although some mobile operators are already dipping their toe in WiMax waters - O2 is already looking into the technology's potential - WiMax will have to prove itself before mobile's big players will be persuaded to open their wallets, a new report from research firm Analysys claims.
3G also has time on it side - WiMax, for example, isn't likely to make it into the wider mobile arena before 2007, at which point third generation phones will make up 25 per cent of all shipments according to analyst house IDC. However, more than one way to get WiMax and its ilk adopted. The report also foresees potential for BWA technologies as a competitor to fixed broadband services - although such technologies are already being used in this way: Kent is soon to get the UK's first WiMax network, for example.
Dr Mark Heath, co-author of the new report, said that a selection of wireless companies could turn WiMax and similar technologies to their advantage - but are unlikely to be serious contenders unless they invest in VoIP. "Fixed operators, ISPs, WLAN hotspot providers and major consumer and business-to-business brands could deploy the technologies to offer a mix of voice and data services in direct competition with mobile operators but they are going to need a really strong business case and wireless voice over IP will be critical to boosting revenues and profitability," he said in a statement.
December 13, 2004, One-third of cell calls are made from the home or in an office: This means that cell/Wi-Fi hybrid phones could offload a ton of minutes used on expensive cell networks to cheap Wi-Fi networks, possibly not even counting those minutes against a subscriber's plan. This Wall Street Journal column notes the Stupid Network problem that David Isenberg has pioneered: namely that a stupid network with no intelligence trying to control its purpose, like the Internet, has much higher utility than a closed, smart network that restricts access like a cellular network.
And there's a good quote from the always quotable smart guy Dana Blankenhorn: Whether it takes one year or five, when callers start relying less on their cellphones to make calls, it will shake up the industry. "Verizon thinks it can stop the future," Mr. Blankenhorn says. "No. They can stop it in Pennsylvania, but they can't stop the future."
Wi-Fi Enabled Phones Are About to Swamp the Market
10 December 2004 -- Wireless devices will swamp the market this year, says ABI Research. Wireless LAN-enabled mobile phones and handhelds are on the way, whether network administrators are ready for them or not.
ABI Research raised its forecast for this year's shipments of wireless handsets in a new report, and predicted that Wi-Fi enabled phones are about to swamp the market, creating fresh complications for enterprises managing wireless LANs.
The proliferation of Wi-Fi data devices poses security questions for system administrators, according to industry experts - the cheapness of access points and the fact that WLAN chipsets are now found in most business laptops means that unauthorised WLAN usage is now a fact of life in businesses. The increase in Wi-Fi devices is likely to increase the need for security equipment designed to monitor and lock down wireless networks. Last week, Engim and Airmagnet launched what they call the first access point reference design with a built-in security sensor; the device could show up in other vendors' Wi-Fi systems next year.
Wireless VoIP poses other problems; it means increased numbers of users with less predictable roaming patterns, placing more capacity demands on the Wi-Fi infrastructure, experts say. For some businesses it may be necessary to bring in a higher-density WLAN with the ability to distinguish between voice and data traffic and manage the quality-of-service issues associated with VoIP, industry analysts say.
December 9, 2004, Intel and AT&T have been working together under a rare alliance to boost their suffering communications businesses. Executives from the two companies confirmed late Thursday that they will collaborate on several communications projects as part of an agreement they committed to about six months ago. The projects are aimed at creating standardized components, as well as blueprints for products that manufacturers will create and sell to small and medium-size businesses.
AT&T has seen better days. Amid cutthroat pricing, the emergence of rival MCI from bankruptcy protection, and a regulatory climate that led AT&T to step away from consumer telephone service, the company is struggling to regain its swagger and is relying on new applications such as voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to accelerate growth in its business segment. But opportunities in cellular phones, handhelds, notebooks and a wireless broadband technology called WiMax are helping the group.
The companies are also working on WiMax technology--a wireless broadband technology allowing several megabits of data to be transmitted over a radius of multiple miles. Intel has been a major promoter of WiMax and plans to produce chips, code-named Rosedale, for the wireless broadband technology starting early next year. AT&T has smart-antenna technology that could be used in WiMax products using Intel parts. Both companies are part of the WiMax Forum, an industry group aiding in the development and marketing of the technology.
Convergence: A Reality For Today’s Wireline And Wireless Markets
December, 2004, Convergence is a word that directly speaks to transformation, and change makes some carriers very uncomfortable. Yet, it is through converged networks that the new emerging business models can be supported. The bottom line is that the financial success and competitiveness of each and every carrier depends on these new business models, and that every carrier’s financial health will be measured by how they achieve high margins from new services and cost efficiencies derived from migrating multiple networks to a converged core. If these things do not happen, the reality is that carriers will lose their customers to more agile and visionary competitors; competitors who are willing to test and trial new technologies, and who are willing to take risks in order to become tomorrow’s market leaders. Companies trialing new technologies such as IP understand the value of access agnostic networks, which can provide fast, low-cost bundled services to consumers.
How can we be so sure that convergence is the answer? What have we seen in the industry to support the idea that IP technologies are necessary for carriers’ future success? For starters, we have seen that wireline subscribers are replacing their wireline phones with wireless devices, and in many instances, these voice services are being provided through pure VoIP networks. It has also become quite clear that the definition of communications as we knew it is evolving. Communications has become more than a lifeline to consumers. The demarcation line that once existed between wireline and wireless services is currently being challenged. Today’s consumers want to communicate with anyone, at anytime, from anywhere while using any device of their choice.
In summary, convergence today is not being driven by the technologies that are deployed in our networks but rather by the demands of consumers. Consumers are not concerned about how or where they get their services, but are more interested in where they are able to get the best price and performance. They look to issues such as; can their service provider offer them voice, data, and video services at economical prices? Can they receive one bill and can they call one number for support? The solution to these customer issues is simple, and migrating to converged network environments is the answer.
Vonage will Sell Videophones and Videophone Service
December 8, 2004, Internet phone service provider Vonage will sell videophones and a videophone service sometime before the end of March, its chief executive said Wednesday, stamping an important imprimatur on a market once derided by comparisons to the futuristic TV cartoon "The Jetsons."
Vonage Chief Executive Jeffrey Citron didn't provide an exact date for the service's debut--first quarter 2005, he said--nor did he release pricing details. For a general idea on what a Vonage videophone service might cost, one can look to videophone provider Packet8, which sells unlimited video calling for $30 a month. Packet8 videophones, which have embedded cameras to capture the caller's image, come heavily rebated.
Vonage has partnered with broadband video equipment maker Viseon to develop the videophone. Vonage will release a videophone that resembles the VisiFone II, a phone developed by broadband video equipment maker Viseon. The VisiFone II debuts in January.
Videophone service is the latest add-on from Vonage and other providers of VoIP--voice over Internet Protocol--a cheap telephone service in which phone calls use Internet Protocol (IP) to travel over the public Internet, or privately owned high-speed networks based on IP. The calls are much cheaper than traditionally placed ones mainly because of IP's efficiencies, plus most IP calls have so far avoided regulation, while traditional phone companies must collect fees and taxes from their customers.
VoicePulse, another VoIP provider, is also planning to add a videophone service "very soon," a spokesman said. He said details were not available.
Nov 21, 2004, - TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's top mobile carrier has begun marketing a cell phone that can make Internet calls over Wi-Fi wireless networks in addition to regular ones. The dual-network N900iL phone from NTT DoCoMo can switch back and forth as needed.
It uses third-generation, or 3G, technology, which relays data at faster speeds than most cell phones in use today. When users are inside their office building and within reach of a corporate Wi-Fi system, the phone also runs Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. Such combined-network phones are still rare. Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, has said it is introducing such a handset next year.
SOFTBANK BB, Japan's "Yahoo! BB Phone" IP Telephony service and "Yahoo! BB Mobile" Wireless LAN Service
November 18, 2004 - Portal Software, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRSF) today announced that SOFTBANK BB Corp. has selected Portal's billing and Revenue Management solution as the core component for its overall billing infrastructure supporting all current and future communication services. SOFTBANK BB, Japan's largest broadband carrier, offers a wide range of services including "Yahoo! BB" service, a comprehensive broadband service boasting a subscriber base of 4.5 million. The offering also includes "Yahoo! BB Phone" IP Telephony service and "Yahoo! BB Mobile" wireless LAN service.
November 17, 2004 - A new technology has emerged that might be a real competitor to 3G. Independent technology editor Charles Arthur writes: "Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) has developed a technology which, within a couple of years, should be widely available in mobile phones and handheld computers, and which will pose a serious threat to 3G services as soon as it arrives."
CSR (the original provider of Bluetooth chips for phones) has created a 802.11g Wi-Fi chip. The company plans to add this UniFi chip into next-generation phones so that when in a hotspot area (currently these can be found in airports, coffee shops, hotels and the like) the mobile would be able to access cheap, high-speed Internet at up to 54 megabits per second.
This would mean mobile's fitted with this chip would be able to stream video, download film trailers, buy music, and surf the Web. 3G can do this too, but its maximum data transfer speed is 384 kilobits per second - almost 150 times slower than Wi-Fi, explains Arthur.
SBC Communications Selects Microsoft TV For Advanced IP Television Service
Nov. 17, 2004--SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) today announced an agreement with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) to provide next-generation television services using the new Microsoft(R) TV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition software platform. The SBC IPTV deal with Microsoft, valued in excess of $400 million over 10 years, is the first of its kind for any U.S.-based telecommunications provider.
"Our service will change the way people experience TV. Finally, customers will watch what they want, when they want - from a virtually unlimited and interactive content selection," said Edward E. Whitacre Jr., SBC Communications Inc. chairman and CEO. "We will deliver integrated communications and entertainment services to enhance the digital lifestyle of our customers."
SBC Labs has been testing an IP-based television service built on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform since June 2004. SBC companies and Microsoft will begin field trials in mid 2005 and plan commercial availability of the IP-based television platform in late 2005.
In the first quarter of 2005, construction is expected to begin on the SBC Project Lightspeed, the company's initiative to deploy fiber closer to customer locations to provide new, feature-rich, IP-based services, including IP television, voice over IP (VoIP), and ultra-fast Internet access. Project Lightspeed is expected to reach 18 million households by year-end 2007.
PTV Potential Offerings - The new service will enable a next-generation digital video entertainment experience not previously realized in the mass market. The solution will take full advantage of the SBC expanding two-way broadband network to offer new, innovative services beyond today's existing broadcast-oriented digital TV networks.
Additionally, by using IP technology to deliver video, voice, data and other advanced services and applications over a single network connection, the services may be accessed and shared via any number of IP-enabled household devices, such as TVs, set-top boxes, PCs, PDAs or phones. Microsoft TV IPTV Edition also provides a comprehensive security system including subscriber and end-to-end digital rights management technology to protect the content across multiple devices.
The IP-based TV service is planned to include instant channel changing, customizable channel lineups, video on demand, digital video recording, multimedia interactive program guides, event notifications, content protection features and more.
Sourcing Report: Internet Telephone Makers Cut Costs to Sustain Staple Market
November 12, 2004 - With lowered prices, due to local component sourcing and in-house protocol adoption, companies foresee increased production and sales volumes Taiwan's communication and networking industry has been performing strongly in the past few years, with production value reaching $6.6 billion in 2003, up 19 percent over the previous year, according to the Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) of the island's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). With the exception of VoIP products, strong segments included mobile phones, WLAN products and GPS devices.
VoIP products such as IP phones in particular have not achieved full product maturity, but VoIP's potential has carved steady markets. Most Taiwan companies in the line produce an average of 1,000 to 2,000 units annually, but they are optimistic that by bringing costs down, production volumes will quickly pick up. Welltech Computer Co. Ltd, for instance, which sold about 2,000 of its IP phones for about $100 each FOB in Q3 2004, plans to increase output to 10,000 units or more in Q4 once it starts to produce models that cost $50 per unit.
WiFi, USB phones on the rise Several other IP telephony technologies have caught on. WiFi phones, which work like cordless IP phones, comply with 802.11x standards. According to Leo Guo, assistant vice president of ACT's sales and marketing division, the company has already developed an 802.11b-compliant telephone for its Japanese ODM customer. The model comes with a 2.2-inch TFT LCD and supports SIP. It also uses the firm's own protocols. The product needs a WLAN access point to hook up to the Internet.
USB phones are also on the rise. These largely software-based units plug into PC and can be used either as IP or PSTN phones. The units are also cost less, only about $15 to $20 each, FOB. One such product, Welltech's K-1010 USB phone, can support free PC-to-PC calls or prepaid PC-to-phone calls using its application software or using Microsoft NetMeeting.
Welltech's Chen predicts that in the years to come, PCs will also function as PBXs within companies and SOHOs. "IP and digital PBX will become the main phone switching standard in the future. With the right software, users will be able to control call switching. Ethernet will become the de facto interface between PCs and communications products."
November 10, 2004 - "Skype is expanding the range of complementary platforms to provide consumers with choice and flexibility alongside the quality gains and cost-savings of modern calling," says Skype CEO Niklas Zennström. Skype's free Internet telephony software works with Siemens handsets by way of the Gigaset M34 USB adapter.
Internet telephony firm Skype today promised free wireless Latest News about wireless voice calls for millions of European surfers via a version of its software for the recently launched Siemens Latest News about Siemens Gigaset DECT cordless phones. The company said that its free internet telephony software works with Siemens handsets via the Gigaset M34 USB Latest News about USB adapter, an open interface adapter plugged into the USB connection point of a users' PC Latest News about PC. The handset has been designed to provide cordless access to Skype features including free Skype-to-Skype calling, buddy lists, the Skype Global Directory and conference calling.
Monday, November 08, 2004 - NextWeb Inc. and ISP backbone operator Level 3 Communications Inc. have signed an agreement that will enable NextWeb to offer voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to its customers. Under the deal, NextWeb will use core infrastructure services from Level 3, along with its (3)Tone Business platform for VoIP services.
NextWeb, a provider of high-speed data access services to small-to-medium business customers, plans to conduct market trials of the new VoIP service in the fourth quarter of 2004. The Fremont, Calif.-based WISP expects to roll out VoIP services in some of its markets by the first quarter of 2005. NextWeb is the largest WISP in California, with markets in San Francisco, Los Angeles/Orange and San Diego counties. It serves more than 2,000 business customers over its microwave network.
Monday, November 08, 2004 - The conditions are right for the widespread emergence of consumer voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) products, reports ABI Research in a new study. In "Voice over Wi-Fi," ABI senior analyst, wireless connectivity Phil Solis notes that industry-wide initiatives have intersected with a push from equipment and IC vendors to deliver consumer-friendly VoWi-Fi products. Most significant are the creation of a Wi-Fi/Cellular working group by the Wi-Fi Alliance and the approval by the Unlicensed Mobile Access Consortium for seamless handoffs between cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks.
11/02/04 (The Business) - WiMax should terrify telecom operators because it will let users make free voice and video calls over the Internet using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). All the user needs is a small headset and a laptop. But soon the consumer will not need the headset or even the laptop to take advantage of free Internet telecom services. The U.S. chip making giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Latest News about Intel is sending clear signals that it intends to bankroll the early rollout of a revolutionary wireless Relevant Products/Services from Hewlett-Packard Mobility Solutions Internet technology called WiMax in locations such as central London.
WiMax is a development of Wi-Fi technology that allows laptop users to surf the Web and pick up e-mail without connecting to a cable while sitting in selected locations such as hotel lobbies, coffee shops and airports. But, unlike Wi-Fi, WiMax could extend broadband wireless Internet access over areas covering several square miles: it could be used to provide wireless broadband Internet access to entire urban areas.
Why WiMax should terrify them is that it will also allow users to make free voice and video calls over the Internet using software called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). All the user needs is a small headset and a laptop. But soon the consumer will not need the headset or even the laptop to take advantage of free Internet telecom services. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Latest News about Motorola and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Latest News about Nokia have announced new phones available this year that will support Wi-Fi as well as the ordinary telecom networks.
Once WiMax takes a hold and handset makers manufacture phones that work on the new networks, consumers should be able to walk down the street making free phone calls to anywhere in the world. And then the mobile operators could see their voice and data revenues start to disappear down the same black hole of the Internet that is already beginning to drain the fixed-line operators voice revenues.
11/2/2004 - Avaya Inc. (NYSE: AV), a global provider of business communications software, systems and services, today introduced an Internet protocol-based video telephony solution that makes desktop videoconferencing as simple as a phone call. The solution integrates broadcast-quality video and office phone functionality into a single, easy-to-use interface, enabling business users to initiate videoconferences on their PC or laptop. This helps organizations quickly and cost-effectively deploy enterprise-class videoconferencing across a business, paving the way for enhanced collaboration and greater organizational efficiencies.
The new solution - The Avaya Video Telephony Solution: Desktop Edition - makes face-to-face collaboration convenient and easy. For example, office and home-based employees, as well as remote and mobile workers, can simply log onto the business network and make video calls that can be transferred, muted, or placed on hold just like a phone call. To initiate desktop videoconferences, a user only requires a colleague's phone number, unlike typical desktop video implementations, which also require knowledge of an IP address or separate video calling number. Videoconferences can be held over broadband or wireless LAN (WLAN) connections.
Killer alliance for WiMAX - Intel & Craig McCaw’s Clearwire
11/01/2004 - Two of the most powerful forces behind WiMAX, Intel and Craig McCaw’s Clearwire start-up, have formed a partnership aiming to accelerate development of 802.16 networks. The two companies will work together on technology development and network deployment, and Intel’s venture capital arm has made a “significant”, though unspecified, investment in Clearwire.
McCaw set up Clearwire earlier this year with the aim of building a national broadband wireless network and, before the Intel deal, had raised $160m from private investors. Incorporated in the new company are the original Clearwire entity, which ran local services around Florida; NextNet, the pre-WiMAX equipment maker; and various spectrum holdings that McCaw has been buying up over the past year. McCaw expects to have live services in 20 US markets next year and is also looking to the European auctions of 3.5GHz spectrum to expand there for the first time. The first territory to go live was Jacksonville, Florida, last summer and next month this will be followed by St Cloud, Minnesota and Abilene, Texas.
Voice will be critical to the strategy. McCaw understands intimately how the cellular wireless market works, and argues that he can exploit this awareness at Clearwire, with the benefit of the cost savings that come from designing a technology from the ground up. "We know the cellular market very well and how 3G works," he told the CTIA conference. "Our partnership will show a definite cost advantage, since this is designed from the bottom up." Having helped set in motion the wireless revolution that disrupted wireline operators’ voice revenues so badly, he is now poised to help repeat the exercise, this time challenging cellular and wireline with VoIP over WiMAX.
Though, of course, McCaw toed the WiMAX community line, insisting that the technology is complementary with 3G rather than disruptive to it. "No one technology wears out," he told the audience. "Look at Western Union. They're moving money for al-Qaida now." While talking up VoIP over WiMAX, he was careful not to take on the cellcos head-to-head – not yet at least. "The fairest way to run yourself out of business is to take on an incumbent with vast revenue and lots of customers. The question is how can we be different and not do what they are doing. We're targeting different markets," he said.
This is somewhat disingenuous. There are certainly markets where cellular will remain the best option for many years with its high mobility, extensive coverage and convenient handsets. However, the plum new revenue streams that the cellcos are targeting are well within WiMAX’ grasp. Even if data users are prepared to accept the slower speeds of 3G compared to 802.16, they will force operators to respond to WiMAX’ flat rate pricing, once they have been taught by Wi-Fi and broadband wireless that they do not need to stay within the operator walled garden any longer
Koncept USA introduces the InfiNET(TM) Multimedia VoIP WiFi Gateway
11/01/2004 - The InfiNET MMG1000 Multi Media Gateway is the world's first WiFi VoIP solution that integrates existing PBX equipment and data networks, or standalone, to the VoIP Network.The InfiNET MMG1000 standards based gateway combines PSTN access, VoIP, Router, Firewall, and 802.11b Wireless technologies in a single package
The InfiNET MMG1000 integrates easily with an existing Key or PBX system, routing calls over the Internet. Connect up to 4 C/O lines to the system and route these lines for outgoing local or long distance calling. The MMG1000 also allows up to 4 Ethernet LAN connections and is a full function WiFi Router with Firewal
October 26 2004 (Wireless Watch) NEW YORK - Calculations of the threat to 3G revenues from broadband wireless have focused mainly on data, but as some 3G carriers put voice in a more central position in their strategies, they could find that route roadblocked too. The third generation UMTS and CDMA technologies may have been the first to promise both voice and broadband-class data on one network and device, but the emergence of usable VoIP over wireless has moved formerly data-only approaches into this space too. Roadmaps for data networks such as CDMA EVDO and 802.16e now feature VoIP, and now so does the plan for UMTS' dataonly strand, TDD.
3G can deliver voice for a quarter of the cost per minute compared to 2G and so operators are looking to cut their overall delivery costs as users move from 2G to 3G and to displace wireline voice revenues. The promise of this business model could be severely disrupted by VoIP over WiMAX, especially for operators like 3 that are now relying primarily on low cost voice minutes for growth. In the IP world, users will become increasingly accustomed to having cheap voice bundled into an overall flat rate package, and operator delivery costs will be even lower than for 3G.
Their current ARPU hopes from voice could be severely threatened by broadband wireless options as these become more seamless and quality assured than the current voice over Wi-Fi options.
October 25 2004 (Forbes.com) NEW YORK - Chipmaker Intel today threw more weight behind the developing wireless broadband data standard known as WiMax by taking a stake in Clearwire, a wireless startup led by billionaire Craig McCaw. Intel did not disclose specifics of the investment, though it did say that the deal is part of its strategy to invest $150 million to encourage the development of wireless technology.
Intel sees WiMax as the technology that, when widely deployed, will be complementary to Wi-Fi, the wireless networking technology that is the underpinning of its Centrino chip platform for notebook PCs. Like Wi-Fi, WiMax offers the ability to connect notebooks and desktop PCs to fast Internet connections without the need for wires. But unlike Wi-Fi, which is limited to short distances, WiMax is intended to be a long-distance wireless connection, with one network access point covering several square miles.
McCaw said Clearwire has already turned on its service for trials in Jacksonville, Fla., and is ready to flip the switch on it in St. Cloud, Minn. and Abilene, Tex., next month. In August, the Kirkiland, Wash.-based Clearwire disclosed that private investors have invested $160 million in the company.
Telecom carriers are certainly interested in the technology because it's seen as being cheaper to provide cable and DSL broadband connections. Analyst Erik Mantion of Instat/MDR estimates that the cost to enable U.S. residential neighborhoods for DSL or cable runs in the range of $300 to $500 per home. The cost to enable an area for WiMax could run $50 and $80 per home.
That lower cost could open up a huge competitive fight between established carriers such as the phone companies like Verizon, SBC and Qwest and cable providers such as Time-Warner and Comcast.
But when combined with Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP, the technology that allows voice phone calls to be made over the Internet, WiMax represents a potential threat not only to established phone companies, but wireless companies as well. The results of a Gallup poll conducted earlier this year for UBS Warburg found that 34% of consumers surveyed would ditch their current phone company for a VoIP service if they could save 20% on their phone bills. Earlier this month, AT&T (nyse: T) and Covad (nasdaq: COVD) both disclosed plans to offer VoIP services over WiMax networks. AT&T says it expects to have its service ready by 2006, Covad by 2005.
"WiMax by itself is interesting," Mantion says. "WiMax plus VoIP, now that's phenomenal."
October 18 2004 (CNET News.com) Two major VoIP providers took steps Monday to further unwire Net-based phoning, traditionally a service tethered by wires.
Vonage, the world's largest commercial provider of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services, and commercial hot-spot provider Boingo Wireless said they intend to co-market each other's services later this year. Meanwhile, Boingo said it is working with handset makers to integrate its software into Wi-Fi-ready phones. The announcements from Vonage and Boingo, and another Monday from Net2Phone, underscore the collision course of Net-based phoning and Wi-Fi, the popular wireless standards used to distribute broadband inside thousands of homes, retail outlets, restaurants and cafes, and in public areas.
Typically, VoIP subscribers use a wired phone line, whether a single home phone or any number of phones in an office setting. But many service providers see an opportunity to create wireless versions of their services using Wi-Fi, which, according to Pyramid Research, will have about 700 million users worldwide by 2008. Introducing the appropriate VoIP services and technology could turn hot spots into giant phone booths.
SBC will use Wi-Fi Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, Phone Service for Consumers
October 13, 2004 LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - SBC Communications Inc. will use its growing roster of public Wi-Fi access points as a springboard for Cingular Wireless services, including advanced phones and voice services using Internet technology. SBC Chief Technical Officer Chris Rice told Reuters in an interview at the U.S. Telecom Association trade show in Las Vegas that the company plans to use the popular Wi-Fi high-speed wireless technology to offer consumers phones that automatically switch calls between Cingular's network and SBC's Wi-Fi outlets by 2006.
Now, CTO Chris Rice says that Cingular will offer phones by 2006 that switch voice from Wi-Fi to cellular automatically. This kind of handoff will effectively Cingular more spectrum, as Rice puts it in this Reuters interview. Rice seems to be saying--as Carlo Longino points out--that the Cingular phones would use whatever SBC Wi-Fi was available, whether in private homes or at hotspots. That's a strange idea, but with 802.11e (quality of service) and Wi-Fi gateways that supported it, the Cingular phones could conceivably override a SBC's DSL subscriber's own data packets for priority! Very very odd idea, and we'll see if a clarification is made on that front.
Rice told Reuters that between SBC's own Wi-Fi network and the Wi-Fi equipment it sells to its high-speed Internet customers, it could cheaply extend the coverage of Cingular, its joint venture with BellSouth Corp. "As you get off highways and go to neighborhoods and homes, typically your cell coverage is not quite as good as when you're driving along the road," Rice said. "I can provide that kind of coverage by providing that connection to the broadband connection at home, or at the restaurant. "If I don't do that, Cingular's got to have a lot of spectrum," he added. "We found a way to offload that spectrum and provide the customer with a seamless solution, so they're not having to pay high-priced data minutes or high-priced voice minutes as they move between networks."
SBC will also use Wi-Fi as part of its launch of voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, phone service for consumers in 2005.
IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation , a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor solutions enabling broadband communications, today announced a chipset for wireless IP phones that will create a new category of consumer products. Wi-Fi(R) phones based on this chipset will offer consumers a cordless phone replacement that can also support data applications such as web browsing, email and instant messaging.
This solution is based on the convergence of Broadcom's award-winning 54g(TM) wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) and field-proven Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies. When compared to similar solutions, Broadcom's Voice over wireless LAN (VoWLAN) chipset reduces major chip count from four to two chips, and offers additional important features such as quality of service (QoS) and security.
"Our research indicates the number of broadband IP telephony subscribers will increase with a compound annual growth rate of 122 percent year-to-year in the US from 2004 through 2008," said Keith Nissen, Senior Analyst for In- Stat/MDR. "By 2008, there will be approximately 75 million subscribers using Wi-Fi-based voice services in the US, and over 145 million subscribers worldwide. Wi-Fi Phones will help drive the adoption of VoIP by enabling the delivery of advanced VoIP services such as unified messaging and presence directly to the handset."
October 8, 2004 - AT&T has 8.5 billion reasons to embrace superspeedy WiMax wireless technology, says the carrier's chief technology officer. That's because $8.5 billion is the amount that Ma Bell pays other telephone companies for access to their networks, thus allowing it to provide communications services to customers.
Now AT&T has joined the growing number of carriers wowed by WiMax, radio technology that promises to deliver two-way Internet access at speeds of up to 75 megabits per second at long range. What has AT&T and others excited is the low start-up costs for WiMax. Typically, it takes $1,500 to lay underground fiber to a single home; the cost of a WiMax hookup is $75.
On top of a WiMax network, carriers could use voice over Internet Protocol technology to sell telephone services that are much cheaper than what traditional phone companies offer, Hossein Eslambolchi, AT&T's CTO, said at the just-concluded Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. "We spent $8.5 billion on local access last year," Eslambolchi said. "I'm going to find any way I can to bypass that as fast as we can."
August 5, 2004 - Cell phone makers plan to release so-called Wi-Fi phones ahead of schedule, bringing new threats and opportunities to wireless carriers and traditional phone service providers.
The highly anticipated hybrid phones let people make connections using a local wireless Internet access point and seamlessly switch over to a cell phone network whenever necessary. The net result is greater flexibility in mobile communications as well as potential cost savings gained by shifting call minutes that would otherwise count against a cell phone plan onto the Internet.
Friday, June 25, 2004 - Net-2Com Corporation and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. have jointly announced the development of the world's first wireless IP mobile handset [.jpg image] capable of seamless switching between wireless LAN and public wireless networks. The prototype handset features built-in wireless LAN functions and enables free selection of public wireless networks through inserting various CompactFlash (CF) networking cards, allowing global use.
Wi-Fi VoIP Phones: IDT uses Wi-Fi to offer cheaper cell service
April 21, 2004 - Believe it or not, 43% of U.S. consumers still don't have a cell phone — many for budget reasons.
Now, long-distance company IDT is aiming at low- to moderate-income holdouts with a new breed of inexpensive service that offers mobile service but only in certain areas. IDT plans to introduce a semi-mobile phone service that works in areas equipped with Wi-Fi, a popular wireless technology linked to the Internet. The strategy could pose at least a modest threat to the big wireless carriers as it marries two hot new technologies: Wi-Fi and Internet-based phone service.
April 2, 2004 - Two Hot Net Technologies Converge for New Mobile Phone Calls
The talk at the VON (Voice On the Net) conference this week in Silicon Valley is not just about Voice over IP (VoIP) technology, but the coming convergence of Wi-Fi wireless LAN technology and VoIP services. That melding is already leading to the development of new products and services, with many more expected later this year.
March 29, 2004 - Broadband phone service provider Vonage will make available portable Wi-Fi phones later this year to help defend itself against AT&T's expansion into its market, a Vonage executive said Monday. With the phone, Vonage subscribers can make and receive phone calls within range of Wi-Fi wireless access points normally found in homes, airports, cafes, fast food restaurants and other high-trafficked areas, Executive Vice President Michael Trembolet said. The phone could also work inside any home outfitted with Wi-Fi networks, he said.
For now, Internet telephony services typically promise consumers a smaller phone bill, largely because VoIP providers operate free of any regulations. Connecting phone calls over the Internet also opens the door to advanced communications services that tie voice together with e-mail, instant messaging and videoconferencing--something that Microsoft and others are already working to achieve.
March 2, 2004 - "Wi-Fi and VoIP are powerful technologies on their own," said Richard Webb, directing analyst for wireless LANs at Infonetics Research. "But together they are far more powerful. It's sort of like adding one plus one and getting three." Experts say the marriage between VoIP and Wi-Fi is a natural one as companies look for a common infrastructure that will allow workers more flexibility in how they communicate. VoIP over Wi-Fi offers many benefits to corporate users, such as eliminating the need to use valuable cellular airtime within a campus network. What's more, many cellular phones lose their signal when inside steel frame buildings, so Wi-Fi phones would provide better quality of service and reliability. It's especially useful in vertical industries, such as health care, where cellular phones can't be used at all, because they interfere with certain machines.
3G Lacks a Knockout Punch as Wi-Fi Wins Phone Fight on Points
February 29, 2004 - IN CANNES last week the promoters of two rival mobile phone technologies - 3G and wi-fi - were shaping up for a world heavyweight contest. The heads of the world's most powerful telecoms operators and phone makers might have looked relaxed as they arrived at this beautiful French Riviera town for their annual jamboree. But that serenity belied a deep division over which system will dominate the industry in the coming years. The line separating the industry players who will rely solely on 3G and those adding wi-fi into their wireless mix has been drawn in the sand. The question everyone in the industry is asking is which system will win the title fight.
This year 3G does not have a prayer against wi-fi, but it could qualify for another shot at the title in a few years time. But by then wi-fi may already be the undisputed world champion for service providers and customers. Technical setbacks and associated delays in the rollout of 3G networks over the past two years left the field clear for wi-fi, which has become increasingly popular in the US, where PC and internet penetration is greatest, but where mobile take-up has lagged. This widespread adoption in the real world gives wi-fi more weight than the hypothetical appeal of 3G. 3G's footwork has been slow, with its network rollout costing tens of billions of dollars and facing massive delays because of over-complex technology. It may never match the punching power of a simpler technology that can be deployed at a cost of $50 a base station.
February 23, 2004 - The construction site for the St. Regis Museum Tower resembles countless other downtown projects, a jumble of steel, concrete and heavy machinery. But for several months, perched on a crane high above the work in progress, was a piece of equipment never used in the history of this city's picture-postcard skyline: a wireless hub.
Webcor Builders, the company constructing the 42-story hotel complex, created a wireless network so that engineers and crews could instantly view blueprints and coordinate projects. Although the construction industry has historically been slow to adopt new technologies, the company saw wireless communication as a way to save crucial time and money. "Competitiveness, especially during the downturn, made us look at how to be more efficient while keeping costs down," said Gregg Davis, Webcor's chief information officer. "We looked at every possible angle to be as efficient as possible, and Wi-Fi was a no-brainer."
Notoriously slow to use new technologies, hospitals, for example, are beginning to use Wi-Fi networks for phone calls. The new phones enable nurses to answer doctors' pages right away rather than run back to a nurse station telephone. In Florida, nurses use notebooks with Wi-Fi capabilities to check and update patients' charts faster, without having to walk back to a nurse's station to enter information. This saved time that was especially important during a nursing shortage last year, according to Gil Sturgis, a network services manager at an Orlando Hospital.
February 23, 2004 - A recent deal between Nokia and Cisco Systems gave Wi-Fi cell phones a key boost--but analysts say the devices may be slow to catch on, because carriers remain reluctant to sell them. Wi-Fi phone proponents say the phones combine two complementary wireless technologies. Wi-Fi is fast, has a 300-foot range and can be used for downloading large amounts of information. Meanwhile, cellular networks stretch for hundreds of miles but can usually only manage download speeds of about 50 kilobits per second to 500kbps.
Some carriers are already warming up to the technology. Wi-Fi phones armed with the appropriate software could ultimately use a home's Wi-Fi access point to make phone calls using the Internet, technology known as voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. That lets them accomplish something that cell phone service providers have been trying to do for years: replace the local landline phone company.
February 18, 2004 - The number of people who use Wi-Fi hot spots globally is likely to triple this year, and businesses had best be prepared, market research firm Gartner predicted Wednesday. By the end of the year, Gartner said, hot-spot users are poised to rise to 30 million, up from 9.3 million last year, and more than half of notebook PCs used by businesses will have Wi-Fi capabilities. Mobile workers will gain an average of 30 minutes a day in productivity by using wireless LANs (local access networks) in offices, homes and hot-spot locations, Gartner said.
February 13, 2004 - This is a thorough Wall Street Journal article that aptly describes how Wi-Fi is affecting the cellular market: The crowded cellular market already has plenty of pressure but Wi-Fi poses a threat from a voice and data competition perspective. The article cites Dartmouth College, which has offered students Wi-Fi phones, eliminating the need for students to use cell phones on campus. Hotspots are also threatening cellular operators' plans for delivering wireless data services. Apparently Nextel has confirmed that it is interested in dual-mode phones that would operate on cellular and Wi-Fi networks.
The Beginning of a Broader Wi-Fi Hotspot Roaming Era
February 18, 2004 - Ken Denman, chief of wireless ISP iPass, says business needs are driving providers to widen the reach of Wi-Fi's "patchwork quilt" The first big wave will be the proliferation of Wi-Fi-enabled devices that can be used by people who don't know anything about wireless. Such devices will be ready to go right off the shelf and out of the box.
The second will be a footprint that covers all the places people will want to connect. At those venues, customers will need only a simple user interface to log on. They won't have to go to a walled garden or present a credit card. And they'll be able to roam seamlessly. Their service interface would be all they would need -- it would act like a cell-phone handset. You jump off a plane, and it registers you and your profile. There's no need to update anything. It's still patchwork quilt. We're just beginning to see roaming relationships form. Once we get used to that at home, we get spoiled. So when we travel we expect that same experience.
North American Hotspot Deployments Exploding: 85% of Mobile Phones will be Wi-Fi enabled by 2009
February 9, 2004 - North American hotspot deployments have exploded in recent months and are expected to grow from 10,000 in 2003 to nearly 200,000 by 2009, according to a recently released report by emerging wireless research firm, ON World. ON World predicts that more than 90 percent of laptops and handheld computers will be Wi-Fi enabled by 2007 and 85 percent of all mobile phones will be Wi-Fi enabled by 2009. The rapid expansion of Wi-Fi enabled devices will increase user numbers rapidly over the projection period up from 5 million users worldwide in 2003 to 86 million in 2009.
These emerging trends are leading to a hotspot land grab by the telcos, mobile operators and many new startups.
Why 802.11 is Underhyped: Wi-Fi will be Embedded in Every Electronic Product Under the Sun!!!
February 4, 2004, CNET News.com - In five short years, a backwardly compatible 802.11g chip began to offer about 25 times the performance at about one-twentieth the price of the first-generation radios in this market. As before, these low price points are leading to increased market opportunities and lower and lower prices. Currently, 802.11 radios are a 50-million-unit-per-year market, but history suggests that this is merely the beginning. With some 802.11 radio chips approaching $5 price points, Wi-Fi will likely be embedded in every electronic product under the sun.
Make no mistake about it: 802.11, or one of its backwardly compatible descendants, will dominate the wireless communications sector over the next 10 years the same way the x86 architecture dominates computing and that Ethernet dominates networking. There will be numerous doubters and numerous challengers, but they will all succumb to the inescapable power of the first true open-standard radio.
January 23, 2004, CNET News.com - Broadband equipment maker Netopia on Friday announced a program designed to spur manufacturers to develop more Wi-Fi cordless phones. Wi-Fi and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are two of the hottest communication technologies around. Many residential consumers have already begun networking their homes with wireless equipment based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' 802.11 standards. Large telecommunication providers have started deploying wireless hot spots in hotels, airports and restaurants throughout the world. This allows users of Wi-Fi enabled PDAs (personal digital assistants) or laptops to connect to the Internet wirelessly.
VoIP phone calling that uses the Internet rather than traditional phone networks also is starting to gain traction in both the business and residential market. Cordless Wi-Fi phones are a natural extension to these technologies. These phones, made by manufacturers such as Cisco Systems, provide consumers with the same features and functionality offered in wireline IP phones. They also will allow people to take their phones with them so that they can make calls when wandering in and out of Wi-Fi hot spots, just as they would using their laptop computers. Currently, the number of public Wi-Fi hot spots and access points around the globe is relatively low, but the number is growing. For example, MCI recently announced plans to add more hot spots to its network.
November 11, 2003, ZDNet - Significant technological progress toward providing enterprise-grade security and management is offset by lack of compelling strategic value.
For IT departments of highly mobile organizations (such as retail, warehousing, and healthcare), Wi-Fi telephony offers a way to justify the costs associated with WLAN. This quest for ROI has pushed Wi-Fi telephony to the top of the WLAN industry priority list. WLAN products that support VoIP technology are now available from enterprise voice equipment providers such as Cisco and Nortel, from startups such as Telesym and Vocera, as well as from early wireless telephony specialists such as Spectralink and Symbol.
After years of false starts and dozens of industry pundits declaring IP telephony/VoIP would never happen, this packet-based communications medium proved them all wrong. Many domestic and international service providers now use IP telephony to transmit phone calls without our knowledge and more businesses than ever are using equipment form Nortel, Cisco and Avaya to transmit calls over IP. The next logical step of course is Wi-Fi Telephony, as this technology allows all the benefits if VoIP without any limitations on location or fixed wires. As hotspots proliferate and corporations embrace Wi-Fi, the next wave of productivity increase will come from tablet computers, PDAs cell phones and specialized voice over WLAN devices, allowing corporate citizens and consumers to have unlimited access to inexpensive telecommunications, many times bypassing traditional mobile and other service providers.
TeleSym is building software to create and grow the Wireless IP Telephony market. The company's first product, SymPhone, delivers high-quality voice communications on wireless IP networks, such as 802.11b. SymPhone System delivers high-quality voice communications on Laptops, PCs and Pocket PC mobile devices with 802.11 wireless IP networks.
TeleSym is building on the opportunity created by three converging technologies: the shift of voice telephone traffic to IP networks; the rapid adoption of wireless LANs; and new, more powerful mobile devices. Today's mobile computers are more ubiquitous and powerful than ever. Wireless, mobile, IP-based devices will be a key driver of future telephony markets. TeleSym's software successfully merges the delivery of high-quality voice over wireless IP networks-in a simple, cost effective manner for enterprise customers.
Voice telephone traffic is shifting from today's circuit-switched networks to packet-switched IP networks. According to IDC, "The IP telephony market is forecasted to soar from $480 million in 1999 to $19 billion in 2004." IP telephony is a "disruptive technology" that presents the opportunity for new companies like TeleSym to create a new value chain in the industry. Wireless telephony is the fastest growing segment of the telecommunications market.
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