VoIP’s current success in several markets owes itself, in part, to Wi Fi. Wi Fi networks have made VoIP easy, convenient and simple to access. A new breed of Wi Fi VoIP handsets, designed to provide users with hands-free VoIP solutions by way of hot spots, is emerging. In place of the old practice of having to root about until one finds the ideal headset to use, link it to one’s lap top, VoIP will take care of all that with great deal less of fuss and bother. This ensures that users are able to communicate faster and more efficiently wherever they may happen to be—frantic at the office, laid-back at home or strolling along a nice public place.
Use of this brand of technology to allow mobile cordless phone calls as well as video calls from a cornucopia of IP telephony hot spots is already being implemented across Australia. David Frith, an industry analyst who writes for an Australian IT magazine, made this observation.
One result of the technology is the recent release of a new cordless VoIP handset, the V24W, from the Australian firm NetComm. The company manages by way of Australian commercial Wi Fi providers along with Skype.
Not everything seems to be on a happy keel, though. The employment of Wi Fi hotspots for VoIP is remain chiefly limited by the reach of the hotspots’ coverage. The average only totals around 20 to 40 meters so coverage is pretty small. This not only makes it difficult for households that may be too far and thus fail to be included in the zone. They would hardly benefit from their use of consumer electronics the likes of cordless phones equipped with VoIP.
Another quibble most tech users have with the arrangement is the lack of flexibility. Since the coverage is small, it prevents users from roaming with complete and absolute freedom, pinning them in place lest the connection fails.
Skeptics on the matter too insist that the advantage that VoIP telephony is often touted for is not quite as attractive as it seems. It may offer calls at no charge at all but the service providers don’t work in the same way. Users, thus, have to pay VoIP service providers if they wish to avail of these free calls, driving home the point that nothing is ever really free. Some believe that this situation is further aggravated at this point by the fact that the technology, being a relatively new one at that, will continue to be available at a price that’s typical of newcomers in the market until such time that VoIP outgrows it or something shiny and new comes along.