Wi-Fi Calling?

Buffalo News picks up a Knight-Ridder piece on the possibility of VoIP via the cellphone. While using Wi-Fi to make mobile calls is still off in the distance for the mainstream, some believe it is moving up fast.

The optimal scenario goes like this: A person begins a call outside, and it's transmitted over a cellular connection. She steps inside her home, and her cellular connection becomes weak. But immediately, her dual-mode phone detects a strong signal from her home wireless Internet connection inside. The phone switches the call automatically, without dropping it, to the Wi-Fi network.

Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said, "Cell coverage in most people's homes is not all that good. If you have one of these phones and you have a broadband connection and a wireless home network, you can make that call over your IP network."

According to InStat, it is predicted that by 2009, 66 million dual-mode phones will be in operation across the globe.Beyond just the technology, one of the critical things will be the availability of Wi-Fi networks ...