The blending of telecommunications technologies is making for some very interesting new acronyms – and some pretty cool technology too.
First we had wireless phones, then we had WiFi and VoIP. Put them together and you get a relatively new technology known as VoWiFi – or for those who hate telecom acronyms “Voice over Wireless Fidelity”.
In short, VoWiFi is the combination of using wireless VoIP networks to communicate on VoWiFi enabled telephones.
VoWiFi phones connect to an Internet connection through various access points or hotspots. The phones operate on radio signals and when they are in the vicinity of the network’s access points, they will pick up the signal, access the Internet, and log on.
Because of a lack of overall security with many wireless networks, VoWiFi has a few hurdles to get over before it is accepted by the masses of wireless users.
But security issues are not the only thing holding back wide acceptance for VoWiFi. WiFi hotspots generally have a limited range, roughly 90 yards or so before losing the connection. Losing a connection so easily is not practical for the typical wireless user.
One solution to this problem is the use of a “hybrid” wireless phone – a device that can function on both cellular and WiFi networks. These phones function as both VoWiFi and cellular.
The Hybrid phone would allow users to use traditional wireless service when WiFi is not available. When it is, they simply connect to the WiFi network and begin using the VoIP functions of the phone. Accessing WiFi hotspots could help eliminate roaming fees as well as allow for data transmission at much higher speeds.
Currently, a VoWiFi phone is still more expensive than a standard cellular phone, but as with any developing technology, prices will most certainly be likely to go down.
There is a huge potential for the integration of video, data, audio, and web browsing capabilities on wireless phones. VoWiFi brings wireless VoIP to the package.
As with the future of all VoIP products and services, the FCC and US government are chomping at the bit to legislate and tax these new technologies. Considering the snail’s pace that government gets things done, it could be years before that happens.
Expect to see many new hybrid and VoWiFi phones appearing on the local consumer market in the coming years.
Submitted by: TelCon Associates
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackSlowly but surely, it seems, the humble phone line is heading for retirement. First it was the growth in mobile phones and generous “capped call” plans, which have allowed many people – especially twentysomethings and short-term renters – to escape being tied to a landline.
Then came VoIP technology, which let you make phone calls over the internet rather than route them through the traditional telephone network. But there was a catch: to use VoIP you needed broadband and most broadband connections still require a telephone line.
Now there’s a new type of broadband service called naked DSL, or nDSL, which not only removes the need for an active phone line but lets you ditch the monthly line rental charges. That’s a saving of more than $20 a month based on Telstra’s cheapest line rental.
You still need the physical line to connect your PC to the internet but that line no longer has to be “live”. There’s no dial tone so it’s as if the line has gone dead.
But it’s not dead: it’s just a “naked” or bare bones copper line without any services loaded onto it. Sign up for naked DSL and that line becomes your super-speed ADSL2+ broadband pipe to the internet.
Naked DSL has obvious appeal to anyone who has already slashed their phone bill by moving to VoIP, where call costs are a fraction of those charged by the standard landline carriers. For them, a hard-wired phone line – and the mandatory monthly rental that goes with it – is largely redundant.
It’s also a winner for anyone who mainly uses the mobile to make and take calls, and doubly so for renters who may baulk at paying Telstra’s $59 telephone connection fee every time they move into new premises. Naked DSL can be activated on an otherwise “dead” phone socket without a technician making a house call.
But the bare truth of the matter is that naked DSL isn’t for everyone.
“It’s certainly getting a lot of hype and no one likes paying line rental when they don’t use their phone much or at all,” says Phil Sweeney, editor of Australia’s popular Whirlpool broadband hub. But Sweeney says that there’s still a small line rental cost attached to nDSL plans – it’s just rolled into the overall plan and paid direct to your internet service provider rather than Telstra.
“This hidden cost can range from $15-$20, so while it’s typically less than what you’d pay for line rental the saving may only be $5-10 depending on what line rental plan you’re on. And it can be worth paying that little extra to have a landline there just in case you need it, in case the net or VoIP isn’t working or for incoming calls.
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