Voices without WiresBoingo Wi-Fi Insider for Tuesday, February 17, 2004

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

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Voices without Wires

The latest Wi-Fi abbreviation is VoWLAN: Voice over IP over Wireless LAN. 
It's not as far-fetched as it sounds. For years, companies like 
<http://www.mymailgenie.com/v3/CustomClick.aspx?rep_id=5922&clientid=660&campaignid=4104&pg=http://www.spectralink.com/>SpectraLink 
have sold 802.11b-based VoIP phones to reduce costs and increase mobility 
in companies.

Companies like 
<http://www.mymailgenie.com/v3/CustomClick.aspx?rep_id=5922&clientid=660&campaignid=4104&pg=http://www.vonage.com/>Vonage 
have captured the public interest in VoIP, rolling up 100,000 users paying 
at least $25 per month for Internet-based phone access to the public 
switched telephone network.

As the Vonage customer spills over into the business market, and as 
products like SpectraLink's make their climb down the price tree -- 
especially with cellular operators and telcos considering VoIP -- the 
demand on Wi-Fi for delivery of packets on a regular basis has increased.

The IEEE 802.11f, e, and i committees all have pieces of the pie for fast 
access point handoff for roaming (f), prioritizing voice data (e), and 
handling authentication during roaming (i). However, a number of vendors 
are looking into forming a specific group to focus on this increasingly 
important issue and ensure voice clarity on Wi-Fi networks.

[]


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