Internet phone goes mobile

VOICE over internet protocol telephony has helped thousands of people shave money from their fixed-line phone bills since appearing on the scene some four years ago. Now it's poised to do the same to mobiles.
It's only a matter of time before mobile VoIP enters the mainstream
By enabling people to avoid the steep call rates levied by mobile carriers, the technology is changing the way mobile phones are used. Some are seeing it as the second phase of the VoIP revolution.
"It's certainly going to be more disruptive to the market than the Apple iPhone," Engin VoIP chief executive Ilkka Tales says. "What will drive it is the key fact that it can save people money. That tends to get their attention."
Mobile VoIP takes two forms. The first involves bypassing the mobile cellular network and sending calls over a wireless network instead. The second makes use of the data capabilities of the cellular network itself.
While it's early days for both methods, initial reaction from users is positive. It's only a matter of time before mobile VoIP enters the mainstream.
An example of the first type of mobile VoIP service, launched by Engin, is designed to work on mobile phones capable of Wi-Fi networking. Examples of these include Nokia's N and E series handsets.
Some handsets are pre-loaded with the necessary softphone settings. For those that don't have them it's a simple matter of installing it via an SMS message, as you would a new ringtone or wallpaper.
Once installed, the phone needs to be set to search for available Wi-Fi networks. This could be a network in the home or office, or one of the growing number of Wi-Fi hotspots sprouting up in cafes, airports and hotels.
Once connected, voice calls can be made and received over the Wi-Fi connection rather than the mobile network. Any calls to the user's inbound VoIP number will be relayed to the handset, and all outgoing calls will be charged at VoIP rates.
Engin's Tales says his company already has a number of users of the service, but admits the price of the handsets restricts it to the premium end of the market. The retail price for Nokia's flagship N95 Wi-Fi-enabled handset, for example, is about $1300.
"Prices will drop quickly though," Tales says. "There are market forecasts that more than 200 million Wi-Fi handsets will be sold around the world in the next few years, and this will push the capability into the mid and low price tiers."
The service is particularly attractive for business people travelling overseas who regularly get stung by the roaming rates charged by overseas mobile phone carriers.
Making calls via a hotspot, or even over one of the growing number of free municipal Wi-Fi networks, can slash hundreds of dollars off the bill.
Work is also under way to allow the cost saving benefits of VoIP to be used in larger offices. Equipment vendors have been working to allow users to roam from a corporate wireless network to a cellular network and back again.
Avaya convergence manager Mark Duncan says such capabilities are being used by companies keen to reduce their telephony costs. Because many people tend to use their mobile handsets even when in the office, sending this traffic over a corporate wireless network cuts costs considerably.
"When people analyse their phone bills, they see a large chunk is mobile calls," he says. "These calls are often made by people even when are within a few metres of a desk phone."
Avaya launched its so-called dual-mode system last month using Nokia E-series handsets. Users can make calls over a corporate network while in the office and then switch to a cellular network when leaving the building. This switch can even take place during a live call.
Duncan says it's appealing to companies because they can use standard handsets and their existing in-office digital PBX equipment. Also, features such as short dialling of extensions and transferring of calls are available on the handsets.
Engin is working on handover technology for its mobile softphone service and expects it to be available later this year. Once installed, it will allow a user to begin a call on a Wi-Fi network and then seamlessly transfer it to a cellular network when they are on the move.
The second area in which VoIP is saving money for mobile users is calls over the mobile network itself.
In Australia, network operator Hutchison 3 has led the charge with its X-Series bundles. As well as mobile broadband and access to 3's content, the bundles also provide a set number of Skype call minutes. Users can call other Skype users from their mobile handset for free.
For $12 monthly (on top of an existing mobile plan) you get 200 minutes of calls to other Skype users. Spending $20 gets 1000 minutes while chronic talkers can fork out $40 per month to get a jaw-numbing 4000 minutes, or more than 66 hours of chat.
"The collection of services in X-Series is having a lot of appeal for business users," 3 communications and business services head Mira Bashi says.
"Many small and medium businesses are avid Skype users, and can now take what have been PC-bound applications to their mobile."
At this stage calls can only be made between Skype users, but 3 is looking at how this might be extended to include both Skype Out calls and Skype Chat services.
Bashi says there are X-Series compatible handsets, six of which support Skype, but Skype calls can only be made when a user is in one of 3's broadband zones. These cover the five mainland capital cities and some major regional centres.
Meanwhile second-tier carrier Gotalk is planning a phone client that will allow users to make use of its VoIP service from their mobile handsets.
Gotalk chief executive Steve Picton says it's designed to make it easy for people to access a VoIP service, regardless of the device they use to connect.
"VoIP is just an access method and it's pretty much irrelevant to users,” Picton says.
"At the end of the day, customers want to have a variety of access methods and we shouldn't be tying them down to their PC or anything else.
"We have enabled our pre-paid products to be accessed via a PC-based softphone, and the next phase is to make that softphone available on mobiles."
Internationally, mobile VoIP was given a huge push recently when carrier T-mobile announced the launch of its Hotspot@home service.
The new offering uses a Wi-Fi router in the home to allow subscribers to make and receive calls over a broadband connection for free. Once they leave home they can do the same thing when connected to one of the company's 8500 public hotspots scattered across the US.
When out of reach of a suitable Wi-Fi network, the handset will automatically divert calls back to the cellular network. The company says handover from Wi-Fi to cellular and vice-versa is totally seamless to the user.
As well as appealing to mobile workers, such a service makes the prospect of ditching a domestic landline telephone even more appealing. Other carriers around the world will be watching the response to the T-Mobile move with interest.
Keeping a lid on costs
WHETHER you're in the office or on the move, VoIP offers a range of ways to keep a lid on the cost of telecommunications.
They include:
• Notebook PC softphones: With a softphone installed on your notebook you'll be able to make and receive calls over a broadband connection. When travelling, just hook up to the hotel broadband connection, attach a microphone and headset, and you're away.
• Free web services: As long as the party you want to call is also a user, try one of the free internet calling services. The most popular is Skype, but Google, Yahoo and Microsoft also have offerings. If your computer has a webcam attached, the services also enable video calls.
• Stick phones: If you don't want to carry a PC, invest in a USB-based VoIP phone. Offered by companies such as Gotalk and FreshTel, these natty devices plug into the USB slot of any computer. The stored client software then uses the computer's broadband connection to make and receive calls. Plug in a headset and you're ready to go.
• VoIP over Wi-Fi: Growing numbers of services offer mobile handset versions of their soft phone client. Load it up, connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot and start making cheap calls. Calls made to your VoIP number will come straight through to the mobile handset.
• VoIP on your mobile: Some operators, such as 3 Mobile, include Skype minutes in subscriber bundles. With a compatible handset you can call other Skype users for free.