TELCOS NOT CONSIDERING HOW WI-FI FITS INTO THEIR STRATEGIES may do so at their peril, as this wireless technology is increasingly expanding beyond the PC to also include IP voice.
While voice traffic is already traversing Wi-Fi networks to a certain extent today, the Interop show last month in Las Vegas provided further evidence that VoIP is expected to be a growing traffic type on these wireless networks going forward.
A handful of Wi-Fi equipment vendors exhibiting at the show discussed how they’re addressing the requirements of voice with new solutions that deliver more widespread coverage. These products include various QoS mechanisms, provide fast AP-to-AP handoffs to significantly lessen latency, or do some combination of the above.
For example, Meru Networks Inc. at Interop unveiled a new group of Radio Switches — which can offer 1.2gbps of capacity in a single access point — for high-density data and VoIP mobility applications. Another Interop exhibitor and Wi-Fi equipment vendor, Colubris Networks Inc., in April publicly released its blueprint to help customers integrate Wi-Fi networks with wireline LANs and add more applications like VoIP on their pipes.
Such premises-based systems that carry voice in IP form make it easier for customers to now use VoIP services for their wide area networking needs.
While several telcos — including SBC Communications Inc. and Verizon Communications — are offering Wi-Fi as part of managed data services and are providing hotspot coverage in specific public areas, there hasn’t been much talk yet about how telcos and other service providers will fit into the VoIP over Wi-Fi phenomenon. But Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, says BT and Korea Telecom are interested in fixed/mobile convergence and have been working with the Wi-Fi Alliance on how Wi-Fi might fit into their plans. Wi-Fi could allow companies like BT and KT — neither of which have cellular operations — to offer limited roaming in college or corporate campuses, possibly in a hybrid VoIP/TDM scenario so the customer could retain legacy TDM equipment, Hanzlik says.
The Wi-Fi Alliance continues its work to advance standards for Wi-Fi on a number of fronts, including VoIP. Several Wi-Fi vendors offer QoS today based on a traffic prioritization method called WMM, or Wi-Fi Multi-Media, that came out of the Wi-Fi Alliance last fall. WMM is a subset of the IEEE’s 802.11e initiative, which is expected to be ratified by the IEEE later this summer.
Another effort within the IEEE called 802.11r aims to provide a standard way to do fast handoffs between APs, says Hanzlik, who adds that 802.11r should be ratified by the IEEE by the second half of 2006.
The IEEE also is working on a standard called 802.11n, which is expected to be ratified in the first quarter of 2007, which will deliver 100mbps-plus bandwidth and leverages MIMO technology for greater coverage indoors or outdoors.
While voice is already running over Wi-Fi networks, says Hanzlik, creating standard ways to deliver voice services over Wi-Fi is expected to bring equipment prices down and allow for multivendor interoperability, both of which will help VoWi-Fi move toward the mainstream.
In fact, the Wi-Fi Alliance has a VoWi-Fi group that is focused on considering what IEEE standards can be leveraged to support VoWi-Fi. The group in the first quarter of 2006 plans to introduce a certification program for standards-based VoWi-Fi equipment, says Hanzlik, adding that will likely be followed by a handful of plugfests.
| Links |
| AT&T www.att.com BT www.bt.com Colubris Networks Inc. www.colubris.com Interop www.interop.com Korea Telecom www.kt.co.kr/kthome/eng/index.jsp MCI Inc. www.mci.com Meru Networks Inc. www.merunetworks.com SBC Communications Inc. www.sbc.com Verizon Communications Inc. www.verizon.com Verizon Wireless www.verizonwireless.com Vodafone Group Plc www.vodafone.com Wi-Fi Alliance www.wi-fi.org |
