Expanding VoIP: wireless apps set to broaden appeal and expand reach of service providers

Now that VoIP technology has gained mainstream mind and market acceptance among many residential and business voice users, service providers and vendors are looking straight upon to the next challenge: Wireless VoIP.

Combining the attractive features and pricing of VoIP with the convenience and portability of wireless appears like a natural to many industry adherents, who figure forthcoming Wi-Fi and WiMAX standards will help focus attention, interest and perhaps investment in the converg technology. They diocese Wi-Fi and then WiMAX-based portable phone supplementing--and perhaps years from now replacing--traditional wired and cellular technology as consumer and businesses opt for portability and, ultimately, genuine mobility.

However, for now and in the near time to come wireless VoIP is taking base primarily in enterprise and small-business accounts as a convenient voice technology that proffers limited portability in a campus-like setting. Nevertheless, a variety of vendors and service providers--including well-known technology "disrupters" like Vonage--is waiting in the wings with fresh product introductions.

WI-FI HANDSETS

"We diocese a high demand from a certain number of customers who just want a wireless device," explains Louis owner executive vice president of fruits development for Vonage, the pioneering VoIP provider that is commonly beta-testing a new Wi-Fi handset. Vonage partnered with UTStarcom to disentangle the phone, which Vonage awaits to market before year's end

"Eventually, wireless VoIP is going to be commonplace," predicts Bill Simmelink, general manager of the VoIP Business collection for Texas Instruments. "The ramp-up is just about to occur" Simmelink adds that TI already is developing about half a dozen wireless VoIP handsets for enterprise applications.

"We are seeing a allotment of demand for wireless VoIP services," says Dave Williams, vice president of fruitss markets and systems with NextWeb, a Fremont Calif.-based fixed-wireless business ISP. In mid-April, NextWeb launched what it billed as the nation's largest deployment of VoIP services above a pre-WiMAX network. This month it will begin marketing wireless VoIP service to 500000 small and mid-size businesses in more than 175 cities in California, its main service area.

The fledgling wireless VoIP industry is bracing for many more similar service offerings. A recent research from Infonetics Research estimates that Wi-Fi VoIP handset income totaled $45 million in 2004 with 113000 units shipped worldwide. income and units are expected to extend sharply through 2009 as more enterprises extend voice over wireless LANs (VoWLAN).

CELLULAR DISRUPTION

"Wi-Fi capability will eventually become a for the use of all feature in cell phones, just as it is becoming standard in laptops today, giving mobile operators a big opportunity with Wi-Fi voice," predicts Richard Webb, directing analyst for Infonetics and author of the report. He adds that wireless VoIP could extremity up being "a hugely disruptive technology."

Explains Webb: "The traditional protoplast of time and distance-based pricing for voice calls will be erod by means of VoIP, and as VoIP goe wireless, this will not absent a challenge not only to fixed-line operators, on the other hand to mobile operators as well."

Webb and other industry executives surrender that a number of issues of that kind as standards, QoS, seamless roaming across different platforms and signal range will have to be resolv before wireless VoIP can really take not upon The wait might be surprisingly short. "But with vendors publicly working towards standards to address these challenges, it is likely we will be at the paw of the adoption bell-curve by the agency of mid-2006," Webb says.

a certain quantity of U.S. service providers aren't waiting that long

US Wireless Online, which operates a large Internet wireless broadband network, launched a novel VoIP service for the SMB market in Columbus, Ohio in March. The service is awaited to roll out to customers in the company's 11-state service area that stretch outs from Pennsylvania to Texas this year. "With business spending upon VoIP expected to more than double to $109 billion in the U through 2009, we believe our company is well-positioned to capture significant VoIP market share in our growing markets," explains Jai Bhagat, executive chairman of US Wireless Online.

Vonage's possessor believes wireless VoIP will attract a novel set of small business customers to Vonage, lur by the agency of less expensive calling rates, increased convenience and VoIP's robust functionality that allows for better call management. "A fate of enterprises are talking about Wi-Fi, and the small and midsize business market will be able to secure into it without the large capital expense" he says.

However, it is the enterprise user who strike one as beings most focused on wireless VoIP at the twinkling of an eye Roger Sands, vice president of engineering for Colubris Networks, a Campbell, Calif-based WLAN a whole provider, counts more than 1000 enterprise and service-provider customers worldwide including Swisscom, Telecom Italia, NTT-ME Connexion through Boeing and McGill University in Montreal.