VoIP Over WiFi

A VoIP Over WiFi with work in Progress The 802.11 wireless LAN protocols, like the Internetworking Protocol (IP) that the Internet itself runs on, weren't, it turns out, initially written with the anticipation of supporting telephony voice, or, for that

VoIP Over WiFi

VoIP Over WiFi

        

  1. A VoIP Over WiFi with work in Progress 
    The 802.11 wireless LAN protocols, like the Internetworking Protocol (IP) that the Internet itself runs on, weren't, it turns out, initially written with the anticipation of supporting telephony voice, or, for that matter, other real-time apps, just data streams. So it's no surprise that there are a few hiccups and challenges in making VoIP run over WiFi -pesky little details like bandwidth assurance, roaming both within an Access Point's area, and from sub-net to sub-net without losing the connection, not to mention security. The state of things today is reminiscent of the early days of DOS, Windows and TCP/IP, with third-party stacks'n'apps, work needed to get each system going, random hacks like Slirp and SLIPknot.
      
  2. The voice over Wi-Fi takes shape
    Wi-Fi, despite opposition from vendors of competing technologies, will grow and add new capabilities, with voice over Wi-Fi services available in about two years, said speakers at the WiFiVoWiFi Planet Conference and Expo. Voice over Wi-Fi, what conference organizers call VoWiFi, has some security and other challenges to fix, but a few organizations in health care, education and other industries are already experimenting with using Wi-Fi networks as the backbone of their phone systems, said Dave Danielson, vice president of marketing for Bluesocket Inc., a Wi-Fi security vendor. While one analyst firm in 2003 forecast more than 500,000 voice over wireless LAN phones sold by 2006, that "hype" may not end up far from reality.
     
  3. The VoIP Over Wi-Fi poised to Spread Quickly
    The folks who rolled out the nation?s first metropolitan-wide Wi-Fi network in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, are implementing VoIP over WiFi. They told an audience at the VON Fall 2005 conference in Boston that VoIP over Wi-Fi will be ready for prime time in other municipalities in the coming months. VON, billed as the "voice over the Net" conference, is the industry's major voice over Internet protocol trade show. We think Wi-Fi Metro can do everything and be like an electricity utility,? said Tyler Van Houwelingen of Azulstar Networks, which is the Wi-Fi provider in Rio Rancho. ?We can sell unlimited telephone and broadband service for under $40 and that?s the best in the business. Van Houwelingen, who is the founder and CEO of Azulstar, said VoIP functions well in fixed locations and reasonably well in mobile situations in which users are moving about the 103-square-mile Wi-Fi metro area. 
      
  4. The VoIP Over WiFi with Cellular Industry
    The Times has recently discovered what you probably already knew, The next generation of cell phones have WiFi access built into them. Although there are some nasty non-technical details to be worked out, these phones can go online via a hotspot as easily as they connect to a cell tower. But, here?s the rub for the cellular industry: when these phones log on in a hotspot, they can become VoIP phones as in free or very cheap calling, as in Skype. Telco have invested their typical borrowed billions in wireless frequency auctions and in so-called 3G services. These investments were made on the premise that wireless prices for voice and some services would stay astronomically high compared to landline and Internet connections. Whoops. You can hear the write-offs and bankruptcies coming.
      
  5. Voice Over Wi-Fi Gaining Momentum
    Voice over packet, transmitted over Wi-Fi LANs, is gaining momentum as large retail chains like Lowe's have converted some stores entirely to wireless IP voice. Eqiuipment vendors hope the Wi-Fi standard will be a new kind of wireless telephony - and a new revenue stream. Vendors like SpectraLink and Airespace believe enterprise customers will want to convert their existing Wi-Fi setups to support voice as new telephone handsets become prevalent and cheaper, and enterprise customers learn about the cost savings the technology can provide. Indeed, enterprise customers who take office to office and interoffice telephony in house in effect stop paying for those phone calls. With the right setup, calls made to other companies equipped with IP phones also in effect become free, charged as computer to computer connections.
      
  6. Voice Over Wi-Fi On the Way
    Voice over Wi-Fi, also called VoWiFi, is a cousin to voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service, and has some security and other challenges to fix. However, a few organizations in health care, education, and other industries are already experimenting with using Wi-Fi networks as the backbone of their phone systems, said Dave Danielson, vice president of marketing for Bluesocket, a Wi-Fi security vendor. Although Wi-Fi and voice over Wi-Fi can have many of the same security problems as other IP devices, they can also benefit from some of the same solutions, added Danielson. The operating system market for mobile devices is more fractured than the Windows-dominated PC operating system market, he said, meaning malware writers can't hit as many devices with one virus.
     
  7. VoIP Wi-Fi Capacity Planning
    As voice-over-Wi-Fi emerges as a productivity-enhancing wireless application in the enterprise, the requirements placed on Wi-Fi infrastructure deployment planning increase from simple coverage and throughput considerations to detailed capacity planning. The issue of capacity planning is often overlooked with today?s primarily data-oriented Wi-Fi networks, but, as in the cellular environment, capacity planning is critical when supporting a voice network with high Quality of Service (QoS). Most importantly, proper capacity planning should drive the decisions IT professionals must make in regards to Wi-Fi radio frequency (RF) technologies.
     
  8. The Voice Over Wi-Fi Aids Expanding Business
    The largest ethanol producer in Canada, CAI manufactures 175 million liters of ethanol per year. Eighty percent of the company's products go into gasoline, and the remaining 20 percent go into beverages such as Mike's Hard Lemonade and Iceberg Vodka. Demand for both Canadian liquor and fuel is booming, and CAI is expanding steadily as a result, according to officials at the Toronto company. Plans are under way to build a new ethanol plant in Varennes, Quebec, and to double the size of the existing Chatham, Ontario, facility. Furthermore, the company just branched out internationally with the acquisition of Pharmco Products Inc., an alcohol supplier in Brookfield, Conn. This will give the company a total of eight locations. The expansion and acquisition plans have given CAI's IT team a good reason to update a communications system that is downright ancient by current technology standards.
     
  9. Voice over IP Wi-Fi Handsets
    Voice over Wi-Fi, or VoWi-Fi, is one of the most exciting areas in the Wi-Fi market. The addition of VoWi-Fi handsets has expanded the Wi-Fi market, but cellular handsets with embedded Wi-Fi semiconductors will be one of the largest future segments of the Wi-Fi semiconductor market. Dual-mode cellular/VoWi-Fi handsets and solutions have been deployed for the enterprise, and consumer solutions are being trialed or commercially launched by service providers all over the world. For consumers, UMA solutions are already being offered, while SIP-based solutions are not far behind. This study examines the market opportunities for voice over Wi-Fi from a handset-based perspective, focusing on drivers, barriers, and competing implementations. It includes a major set of forecasts for both pure voice over Wi-Fi handsets and dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets. 
     
  10. The Vendors make pitch for voice over Wi-Fi
    The next big use for wireless LANs may not be more hot spots or video, but rather plain old voice calling, said a panel at the Pulver.com Wireless Internet Summit. Ben Guderian, director of marketing for Boulder, Colo.-based SpectraLink Corp., said that the one place where mobile phone call reception remains a problem is inside corporate walls. Cell phones provide reasonable coverage on the move outside of the office, but if someone is away from his desk while at work - or doesn't have a desk - and still needs to communicate, it is often difficult to get a clear signal. Wi-Fi networks provide a great opportunity to provide workers with reliable, mobile voice service, Guderian said. In a small office, a company may decide to use a wireless network instead of a wired network, in which case adding voice capabilities to the network can help boost savings.
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