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October 06, 2008
VoIP over WiFi Trial Approved by Israel Ministry of CommunicationsBy Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Senior Editor The quest to deliver more reliable broadband wireless access for Internet and telephone services has led providers to consider new potential applications for WiFi (News - Alert), a short-range system that uses base stations to send signal over distances of 120-300 feet. The limited range of WiFi makes it most useful for very local wireless networks (often referred to as “hotspots”), which have become ubiquitous in places like coffee shops, airports and bookstores.
While WiFi is mostly used to access the Internet for Web surfing or e-mail, users of newer mobile devices can now make voice calls using WiFi coupled with a VoIP service. This type of application for WiFi has piqued the interest of providers looking for new revenue streams, and some limited trials are underway in various parts of the world.
For example, late last month the Ministry of Communications in Israel issued a special license allowing tests of WiFi for delivery of VoIP telephony services, as an alternative to cellular service. The idea is that users who otherwise make phones calls in public or outdoor locations using cellular service would instead make use of WiFi hotspots.
“The service is to some degree an alternative to the cellular service, in delimited areas having WiFi hotspots such as airport terminals, coffee shops, hotels, shopping malls etc.,” the Ministry said in a September 28 announcement.
The license to try out VoIP over WiFi was issued to NSR (1996) Ltd.
The idea of VoIP over WiFi is not new in Israel: Tel Aviv-based fring offers free “talk, live chat and interact” services marketed to users of newer smartphones like iPhone (News - Alert), using Internet data plan or WiFi.
Mordechai Mordechai, general director at the Ministry, commented that this experiment is merely the latest in a series of moves (such as approving a similar experiment to use WiMAX (News - Alert) for mobile communications services) to “encourage the use of innovative
technologies that increase competition and cheapen costs for consumers.”
It remains to be seen, of course, whether there is a demand for VoIP service delivered via WiFi, and this trial will examine not only the technological aspects of delivery but also marketing and adoption.
Related News
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Mae Kowalke is senior editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Mae's articles, please visit her columnist page. She also blogs for TMCnet here. Edited by Mae Kowalke
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