VOIP & Smart phone??

Eurorunner

I will have a wireless BB connection within a couple of months (when i move) and as I intend to use VOIP, I just wanted to check out the following;


Is it possible to use a smartphone eg. Nokia 6600 -which uses bluetooth - as the handset at home where voip is setup? If it is possible to use an adapter which will allow the use of a DECT handset with VOIP, why not something similar with a smartphone?

causal

WiFi is the way to go, but for bluetooth check out the third and second last paragraphs.

From an ENN article last March.

Irish firm to launch VoIP over Wi-Fi
Thursday, March 10 2005
by Charlie Taylor

Irish mobile phone users may soon be able to make cheaper calls following the completion of a trial which saw a VoIP service transmitted over a Wi-Fi network.

Dublin-based firm, Talktelecom recently ran a two-month trial to test a service that allows calls to be made across the internet using specially-equipped XDA smartphones and HP personal digital assistants (PDAs). According to the company, the success of the trial means that users of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones may soon be able to bypass GSM networks and save as much as 90 percent on current call charges.

The apparent savings are possible because VoIP (voice over IP) calls are routed over public IP networks -- or the internet itself -- using high-speed broadband connections, allowing for much cheaper fixed-line calls. Talktelecom's system uses Wi-Fi to bridge the gap between the customer's fixed broadband connection and the customer's mobile phone, allowing the device to effectively function as fixed-line VoIP phone so long as it stays within range of a Wi-Fi access point.

In simpler terms, the technology combines to cost savings that come with fixed-line VoIP with the flexibility of a mobile device. In addition, Talktelecom claims that its service is significantly more secure than a fixed-line because of specially encrypted software it has developed which ensures that calls cannot be monitored.

"The rapid development of wireless technology, coupled with consumers' increased acceptance and understanding of Wi-Fi and VoIP, has led Irish customers to demand these new features," said Jonathan Mills, CEO with Talktelecom. "The latest model handsets and mobile phones now include Wi-Fi capabilities, but making all of these technologies interact seamlessly has not been easy. However, our trials in Dublin have proven that they now can."

Talktelecom is now set to roll out a pilot scheme which will allow broadband customers to use the company's VoIP over Wi-Fi software and hardware to make calls to other landlines and mobiles. The firm expects to officially launch a subscription VoIP over Wi-Fi service by the end of June 2005. Aimed primarily at the SOHO (small office home office) market, Mills believes that it may also prove popular in the enterprise space providing that the cost of Wi-Fi enabled handsets comes down.

"We envisage that the bulk of people will use our service at home where they'll be able to make significant savings on the price of calls," said Mills. "We are about to enter an era where a previously expensive mobile phone call to Australia will cost just three cents per minute."

Talktelecom is a fully licensed telco operator which sells wholesale telephone minutes to Irish corporate users at discounted rates.

It is worth noting that Talktelecom takes advantage of technology developed by Irish firm Cicero, which last year released software that uses the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi capabilities in newer mobile devices to wirelessly connect users to a landline or broadband connection.

Meanwhile mobile operator mmO2 has said it is looking closely at a Bluetooth device that would do much the same thing for home users with DSL connections, and British Telecom has also said that it is pondering similar technology based on 802.11x.

Correction: This article stated that Talktelecom had an agreement with hotspot provider BitBuzz to allow mobile phone users to use the firm's access points. BitBuzz has since informed ElectricNews.Net that no such agreement exists.

hth,
causal

Eurorunner

Thanks for that causal. Going by that article, it looks like its feasible but will take some time to filter through to the ordinary user.

BigMoose

When I bought the VoIP converter for my DECT phone some months ago, I looked around for WiFi enabled phones and they did exist. Bloody expensive so didn't bother. I do use Skype on the PDA over WiFi though and I'm sure a SIP softphone for PDA probably esists. You can use a bluetooth headset with the PDA... I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone produces a WiFi enabled GSM/3G (etc) phone.