GSM Phones w/ VOIP a Threat to Cell Phone Companies

[jones]

Hybrid Cell Phone Includes Internet Telephony Capability

UTStarcom's GF200 could be great for consumers,
but cell phone companies have reason to fear it.

Erik Larkin, PC World
Friday, January 06, 2006


LAS VEGAS -- A new cell phone about to debut could drastically reduce your cell phone bill by splitting calls between cell networks and less-expensive VoIP over WiFi.


UTStarcom's new GF200 cell phone, previewed here at CES, combines GSM and VoIP over WiFi. GSM is one of two main types of cell networks used in the U.S., while VoIP is Voice over IP or Internet telephony. The GF200 should become available in the second quarter of this year, although the company hasn't yet said how much the phone might cost.

WiFi VoIP phones aren't anything new. We previewed some early models in 2004. But those phones are more cordless phone replacements for home use than cell phone competitors, says Michael Tribolet, executive vice president of Vonage, because people probably don't want to carry two phones just to have both cell and VoIP access.


How It Could Save You Money
The GF200 looks like just another cell phone, and that's the point.You get both types of functionality from the one phone that you'll be carrying around anyways.

Connecting to both GSM and WiFi networks at the same time, and sending a call over either one at the push of a button, might not sound like much. But consider that most people make many, if not most, of their calls from work or from home, and often have wireless access at both places. So any calls made from either location, or anywhere else you can connect to a known WiFi network, wouldn't use cell minutes. Note: The phone can use WEP authentication but can't yet connect to hotspots that require Web authentication.

Now add in the ability to configure most VoIP services to forward calls to another number when the VoIP number is unavailable, and you might see the potential of this kind of phone. Give everyone your VoIP number, and if you're within range of a known WiFi network, you'll get the call over VoIP. Otherwise the call will automatically be forwarded to your cell service.


Threat to Cell Phone Companies?
This all sounds great for cutting down on cell minutes, but don't expect to be able to get a GF200 with a new Verizon cell plan any time soon. Howard Frisch, director of Handset Product Management at UTStarcom, said it's highly unlikely that existing cell companies will want anything to do with a phone that could slash their revenue said.

For that reason, Europe will probably be the first market to see any real distribution, Frisch said. Across the Atlantic, people generally buy their own phones and slip in a SIM card that ties them to a particular company's network, he says.

You'll be able to buy the phone online, though, but bear in mind that that you can only use the phone with a VoIP company that will give you the SIP credentials you'll need to connect to their network. Broadvoice, Sipgate, and some others will, according to Frisch. Other, larger VoIP companies like Vonage won't release your SIP credentials, he says.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...124268,00.asp#

[jones]

This could be the Start of Home Cell Sites
even a threat to 3G since Carriers have Dead Zones.

People w/ weak Signal Inside their Homes
can now make/receive Calls.

[bobolito]

One thing they don't mention is that WiFi is a battery hog. Expect those kinds of phones to have dramatically reduced battery life when operating in WiFi mode.

[Gamer03]

Originally Posted by bobolito One thing they don't mention is that WiFi is a battery hog. Expect those kinds of phones to have dramatically reduced battery life when operating in WiFi mode.

That's definitely true (I can vouch for that after using my pda).

But, you could always fix that problem by plugging in your phone while in "WiFi" mode. It wouldn't be convenient (but if you sit down while you talk, then it could help).

[walkguru]

Originally Posted by Gamer03 That's definitely true (I can vouch for that after using my pda). But, you could always fix that problem by plugging in your phone while in "WiFi" mode. It wouldn't be convenient (but if you sit down while you talk, then it could help).

this sounds like it could be a great thing, i just wonder how much it will cost.

[bobolito]

Originally Posted by Gamer03 That's definitely true (I can vouch for that after using my pda). But, you could always fix that problem by plugging in your phone while in "WiFi" mode. It wouldn't be convenient (but if you sit down while you talk, then it could help).

Most of the times you would have to be sitting down, otherwise you could go out of the range of the WiFi access point and WiFi is not very good handing off between access points.

[Bugwart]

Bobolito, you are correct. The current WiFi 802.11b/g/n will not necessarily switch easily from access point to access point. I believe that this is a software issue. The newer standards 802.16 and 802.20 will provide much greater mobility.

There are several non-tethered WiFi VOIP handsets on the market right now, and more are on the way. It will be interesting to see whether these succeed in the marketplace.