* Alliance certifies nearly 100 Wi-Fi-capable phones
Mobile handsets are quickly gaining Wi-Fi connections.
The Wi-Fi Alliance says it has certified nearly 100 Wi-Fi-capable phones and that carrier deployments of dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular handsets are underway in seven countries. To date, the industry group, which certifies interoperability among different manufacturers’ Wi-Fi clients and access points, says it has certified 82 dual-mode and 10 single-mode (Wi-Fi-only) handsets from 19 vendors.
Among them: Acer, Fujitsu-Siemens, HP, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba.
Users of these handsets can connect to a Wi-Fi network for voice, multimedia, and data applications over a faster connection than cellular networks offer. These networks might be at home, work, or a Wi-Fi hot spot in a public venue. For voice, however, don’t assume that the device has a VoIP software client in it. Some handsets that support Wi-Fi support data access only; the handset must be specifically rendered to support voice capabilities.
The same goes for internetwork roaming, an underlying concept behind fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). These handsets let you connect to one type of network or the other, but not necessarily roam among the two without interrupting your sessions. To get that capability, you need mobile VPN software, from companies such as Columbitech and NetMotion Wireless, or you need premises-based equipment that handles the Wi-Fi-to-cellular handoff, or an FMC-style service from your carrier. The latter two options are still in their infancy.
Wi-Fi Alliance certification for phones covers core Wi-Fi interoperability and standards-based security protocols. Additional programs to test voice performance over Wi-Fi are planned for later in 2007.
