All posts under tagged ‘Wi-Fi’

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ASUS Videophone

Source: voip-tech.blogspot.com

ASUS presents the first videophone Skype™ certified, the videophone ASUS AiGuru SV1 Skype is equipped with a 7 inch color LCD monitor, a 640×480 pixels webcam, a microphone and a speaker, the connection to the internet it’s by Wi-Fi 802.11 b and g or by the classic cabled LAN 10/100 Mbit.
In summary it is a good product that doesn’t need a pc connection to work, in fact it’s enough to connect it to a wireless or cabled router, it offer all the benefits of Skype™ phone calls and free calls from and to Skype™ users; it will be commercialized starting from the next october.

Published on September 22nd, 2008 under , , , , ,

Even The New iPod Will Have Its VoIP

Source: voip-tech.blogspot.com

Even the new born in Apple house, the well-known multimedia portable player iPod, available on the App Store and very similar to his brother iPhone, will have its VoIP functionality, thanks to the new earphones with microphone it will be possible to make VoIP calls by the TruPhone application and the integrated Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g), TruPhone is available for free on the App Store.

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Published on September 14th, 2008 under , , , ,

New Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11r

Source: voip-tech.blogspot.com

Good news for mobile VoIP, the IEEE announce the new 802.11r standard that allows the change of connection between Wi-Fi Access Points without loss of connections or delays in reconnections, just 50 milliseconds for the roaming between one access point and another one, positive situation for whom that use mobile VoIP, no more interrupted calls while you’re moving, no more lost words or sentences during a conversation.

Published on September 2nd, 2008 under , , , , ,

Seamless Transitions for VoIP on Wi-Fi

Source: www.voip-news.com

Imagine if wireless devices could move seamlessly between Wi-Fi connection points without a hiccup? It might seem like a dream, but a new standard just developed and approved by IEEE could make it possible.

Oh, wouldn’t that be great?

The original standard was only intended to be used with a single access point. It’s about four years in the making and is expected to mostly be used in VoIP applications.

According to PC Pro:

Current Wi-Fi equipment can take several seconds to complete the handover from one access point to another, resulting in dropped phone calls.

The new standard will complete the process in just 50ms, by establishing a security and quality of service state with the new access point before handover.

Published on August 30th, 2008 under , , , , , ,

Wi-Fi: You old new smoothie?

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

The IEEE has formally approved 802.11r, the amendment to the Wi-Fi standard that allows devices to smoothly transition between Wi-Fi hotspots without breaking the flow of conversation.

802.11r allows a mobile device to move smoothly between hotspots, with connections never suspending for more than 50 milliseconds. Inaudible to the human ear which is presumed to be making use of such connectivity, the standard was published last month, but manufacturers are only now starting to show an interest.

It’s strange to think that Wi-Fi was once considered a serious threat to mobile telephony, but there was a time when city-spanning Wi-Fi networks promised to carry phone calls for free, if only there was a decent hand-off between cells. 802.11f provides a fast enough hand-off for data services, but that can take a second or two if cryptography is being used, so 802.11r was kicked off in 2004 to provide consistent connections.

These days no one seriously expects Wi-Fi to challenge the network operators, indeed the reverse is more likely to be true, but enterprises might be convinced to deploy VoIP solutions based on Wi-Fi thanks to the new standard.

Earlier this year the Wi-Fi Alliance tried to create interest in using VoIP over Wi-Fi with their "Voice-Personal" certification, which has been largely ignored by VoIP users and manufacturers alike. Now that 802.11r has been completed, the Alliance will likely create some sort of enterprise-level certification that will mandate 802.11r conformance.

As femtocells start to provide the same functionality with less complexity, and cellular networks ramp up speeds to match the real-world performance of Wi-Fi, it’s probably time for Wi-Fi to concentrate on the data services it delivers so well and leave voice traffic to the professionals. ®

Published on August 29th, 2008 under , , ,

No VoIP for AA In-Flight Wi-Fi

Source: www.voip-news.com

Now you can surf the web while flying the friendly skies. American Airlines has rolled out Wi-Fi on flights longer than three hours. Fifteen of the company’s airplanes are outfitted with the capability.

The cost to passengers: $12.95 … that’s more expensive than Wi-Fi at Starbucks or AOL dial-up 10 years ago … I think.

But sorry folks, you won’t be able to tap into VoIP while in the air. American Airlines isn’t allowing it.

Anyway, according to the Chicago Tribune:

The Wi-Fi service is called Gogo and is provided by Aircell, an Itasca-based company that is also outfitting Delta Air Lines aircraft with Internet access. Earlier in August, Delta said it would launch Wi-Fi on some airplanes by fall and expand the service to its entire domestic fleet by next summer.

The Gogo service costs $9.95 for flights of three hours or less, though all of American Airlines initial flights with Wi-Fi are coast-to-coast ones. The first planes to get Wi-Fi are the 767-200 aircraft, which fly nonstop between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles and New York and Miami.

Published on August 21st, 2008 under , , ,

More VoIP Allowed in Wi-Fi Spots

Source: www.voip-news.com

This is pretty interesting. A UK publication is reporting that more Wi-Fi hotspots are allowing users to make VoIP calls.

According to Telappliant:

The report, by ABI Research, found that the Wi-Fi market is expected to grow by 40 per cent compared with 2007 and its business model has been changing rapidly.

It found that companies such as Starbucks have been altering how they look at the technology, for instance offering a virtually free service, meaning customers can take full advantage of the low cost of VoIP phone calls.

Published on July 24th, 2008 under , , , , , ,

Telerupted: An Internet for Devices

Source: gigaom.com

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A growing number of people expect mobile phones to emerge as the dominant means of Internet access for the 6.6 billion people on Earth; as proof, they point to the 10 percent of the 2.5 billion handsets in circulation that already include such access. But there exists a flaw in the mobile phone-as-path-to-Internet-ubiquity theory in that telcos generate the majority of their revenues from voice services that the Internet threatens to make obsolete — like a power company that makes most of its money through a monopoly laundry service that at-home washers and dryers have the power to put out of business.

In fact, given carriers’ efforts to excise voice functionality, it’s the Internet that seems unlikely to survive, much less prosper. Carriers routinely require device manufacturers to handicap handsets, for example, to remove Wi-Fi functionality in order to make it difficult to bypass voice plans. Another example is that of Apple and AT&T, which require iPhone customers to purchase both voice and data connectivity (i.e. laundry service and power) — a policy that’s even enforced for deaf customers with a doctor-certified inability to speak or hear.

Low cost or free voice functionality helps drive demand for Internet access, so it hardly seems a good idea to sacrifice voice in order to get mobile phones with Internet functionality. The way forward requires making the Internet more useful for connecting communication devices, not less. For example, addressing the three issues below would go a long way toward creating an Internet for devices that competes directly with carriers for mobile phone users:

  • Close the ease-of-use gap between configuring session initiation protocol VoIP devices like the Linksys WIP330 IP Phone (a.k.a. “Cisco’s iPhone”) and the provisioning process for cell phones. The former remains sufficiently painful as to exclude everyone without an IT department or geek credentials, but the telcos cannot stop the 100 or so manufacturers of SIP devices from agreeing on a common provisioning mechanism.
  • Unify the addressing of all SIP-based devices. The insistence on proprietary screen names and unwillingness to peer leaves real-time Internet services like instant messaging and VoIP mere islands of communication. Even the millions of users claimed by AIM or Skype are meaningless vs. the 3.3 billion wired and wireless phones addressable by telephone number. The secret to carriers’ ability to generate in excess of a trillion dollars in revenue from voice services is interconnection.
  • Eliminate the user intervention steps necessary for wireless device connection. Connectivity should get addressed as a matter of reception, as in the case of mobile phones or even FM radios, not by presenting users with lists of Wi-Fi access points. It seems like there must exist automated solutions for picking and connecting to or disconnecting from Wi-Fi access points.

Initially, electric power generation companies were application-specific, which resulted in incompatible voltages and infrastructure being used for everything from street and residential lighting to industrial applications. The decision to abandon the link between application and power generation unleashed an explosion of devices offering the tremendous range of productivity and entertainment options we take for granted today. When it comes to decoupling the connectivity and application, the nature of the Internet makes it possible to create mobile phones with CD audio quality. The Apple iPhone’s elegance does not change the fact that basic voice quality remains unimproved since mobile phones first arrived 25 years ago. The mobile phone companies see the Internet as a threat, not an opportunity.

Published on July 10th, 2008 under , ,

Truphone Offers Free/Cheap Calls Away From Wi-Fi

Source: www.voip-news.com

Truphone subscribers are now being offered free or cheap VoIP calls over the cellular network when they are away from Wi-Fi hot spots. The mobile VoIP solution uses a unique set-up to save customers money.

According to ComputerWorld:

“We’ve put together our mobile numbers and interconnect, with SIM4travel’s home location register,” said James Tagg, CEO of Truphone. The company has its own number range, which has enabled it to act as a mobile operator, and win against operators, including T-Mobile, which challenged this. In April, it raised another $33.6 million in venture funding to add to about $25 million, which it raised in 2007.

The idea of mobile VoIP is gaining ground in the U.K., with Australian operator Freshtel Pty. Ltd. launching a trial backed by a Tesco, and with a “buy one get one free” offer. Freshtel uses a VoIP client similar to the one that Truphone is installing on Nokia E and N series phones, and operates on any Wi-Fi.

Published on May 27th, 2008 under , , , , , , , , ,

AT&T Launches Free Wi-Fi for LaptopConnect Customers

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

AT&T has announced that qualifying LaptopConnect customers can now access more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots free of charge. Users can access Wi-Fi at nearly 7,000 participating Starbucks locations plus thousands more AT&T Wi-FiSM locations, including restaurants, airports, hotels and other convenient locations across the United States.

AT&T LaptopConnect uses AT&T’s wireless network to keep customers connected to e-mail, the Internet and business applications almost anywhere they can make a phone call. Qualifying LaptopConnect customers will now automatically receive a pop-up message alerting them to Wi-Fi availability when in range of an AT&T hot spot. At that point, customers who have downloaded the latest AT&T Communication Manager software to their laptop PC just need to click Connect to access the Wi-Fi connectivity. The offer is available to customers who subscribe to a DataConnect plan of $59.99 or more.¹ AT&T Communication Manager comes with new LaptopConnect cards and is available for free at www.att.com/laptopconnect.

How It Works….
AT&T also offers free Wi-Fi access to qualifying broadband subscribers. The company plans to expand free Wi-Fi access to additional wireless customers in the future.

When not in a hot spot, AT&T LaptopConnect cards operate on AT&T’s wireless network, which provides DSL-like speeds on the company’s 3G network in more than 275 markets in the U.S., reaching nearly 350 markets by year end. AT&T’s wireless network also offers data connectivity across AT&T’s EDGE network which covers more than 13,000 cities and towns and some 40,000 miles of major highways. Internationally, AT&T can offer customers data access in more than 145 countries and 3G roaming in 60 countries.

Published on May 21st, 2008 under , , , , , ,

Muni-Wi-Fi is So Gawn

Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

The people involved in Muni Wi-Fi are all wet. From the manufacturers to the consultants who advised the cities to the city folks themselves. Talk about playing into the hands of the big telcos and cable operators.

Not a one figured that the cable guys could be their best friends and none of the efforts to really make it fly went on in places where broadband was severely hampered. Sure there are examples of good installs like Minneapolis and maybe Providence, R.I., but between Earthlinks’ uneconomic models, city’s not working with the cable operators who already have fiber in the ground and more, the Muni-WiFi jet has crashed and burned. What’s more, most of the systems were built to go two stories up and about one room in, unless you added on some customer premise equipment (CPR) like the one from Rukus. Call it HOMELESS WIRELESS, for that’s about the only type of folks who got the coverage nice and strong.

It’s time for a new model. A Public WiFi model. Oh, and FON…I’ve been in Barcelona, Paris, Lyon and Madrid and darn if I can find an FON as I wander…For the next phase those who have a business opportunity will be the places where broadband has not yet really gone before, but that it can be taken easily.

Published on April 20th, 2008 under ,

T-Mobile bundles Wi-Fi with Web ‘n Walk

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

T-Mobile customers signing up to Web ‘n Walk Plus (or Max) will get free access to the operator’s 39,000 hot spots from January. So for £12.50 a month users can get 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and be allowed to use instant messaging too…

Web ‘n Walk is already one of the more attractive options for users wanting mobile internet access, though usage restrictions on the basic service limit it to general web browsing. The Plus, and Max, services offer a higher fair-use level and permission to use instant messaging and such like. Charging users again for T-Mobile-branded Wi-Fi access always seemed harsh, even if it comes with truly unlimited quantities of data.

Of course, 3G networks are expensive to run, and moving punters onto Wi-Fi with cheap back-haul (over ADSL lines) should save T-Mobile money. But that’s only true if the users would have been using their data connections anyway, so offering it as an addition to Web ‘n Walk makes sense.

Users get faster connections, while T-Mobile saves money - the wonders that convergence can bring! As long as punters don’t start using the service for VoIP - that would still be against the terms and conditions. ®

Published on January 9th, 2008 under , , ,

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