Cicero Brings VoIP to Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices

[Jerry Raia]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/340/C5268/' target='_blank'>http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/340/C5268/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"For those who are eagerly awaiting for VoIP to come out for their cellphones, the wait is now over. On Thursday, Cicero Networks Ltd. announced the launch of a smartphone version of its CiceroPhone which offers converged VoIP features. Going a step further, Cicero also announced a new Call Continuity server, a major new enhancement to the Cicero Controller that paves the way for seamless roaming between both Wi-Fi/GSM and Wi-Fi/CDMA networks."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Jerry-VoIP.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/><br /><br />The first question that pops into my head about this is: How much are carriers going to charge for using VoIP? I see no way they will let us have that option without hooking a meter up to it. Either that or carriers like Verizon will cripple it (like they did Bluetooth) so VoIP will not work.

[Sven Johannsen]

Are you assuming the VoIP is going to go over your carrier network? I always expected that VoIP would be supported by a WiFi Hotspot I happened to be in. That would seem to make the concept of switching networks in-call more difficult. If I switch from a voice call to VoIP at my end, and the other guy is on a voice only phone, somehow the VoIP has to connect to a phone that is already off-hook....seamlessly. The carrier would have to cooperate in that switch. I think offerring that capability is something they could charge for.

In any case, if the VoIP is going over your carrier, I would assume it is eating at your data plan. I don't see the carrier has any visibility into whether your IP packets are digitized voice, video, pictures or email with big attachments. I'm sure they could, but how do you distinguish a phone call from any other audio transmission. So I don't think VoIP over the 3G or EVDO is going to be billable as anything but the way your data is now. Of course they could raise the price of data for everyone to counter perceived loss of voice revenue.

[Jerry Raia]

Are you assuming the VoIP is going to go over your carrier network?

I was thinking that no matter how they do it if the phone knows you are using VoIP then the carrier will know too. Hence they will meter and charge for it whether they are providing it or not. I can't imagine them letting you use it for nothing.

[roma]

Are you assuming the VoIP is going to go over your carrier network?

I was thinking that no matter how they do it if the phone knows you are using VoIP then the carrier will know too. Hence they will meter and charge for it whether they are providing it or not. I can't imagine them letting you use it for nothing.
You really need to explain that to me. How would my carrier know that I'm transferring data over my WiFi net with my i-mate?

[Jerry Raia]

No you are right. I was thinking in terms of a branded phone. All I've ever owned are branded phones....

...until the next one. :)

[Sven Johannsen]

I can't imagine them letting you use it for nothing.

Well, it's not really for nothing. You pay for the data plan. It just might take some voice revenue away from them, which might make them reconsider their data pricing. Actually they are making a killing off of me and my voice plan already, if you consider what I pay for compared to what I use. If I lower my voice plan though my data plan goes up so I I'm up to my eyeballs in rollover minutes and they have my money anyway.

Personally I think were moving to VoIP or something similar for everything anyway. It's been a long time since analog voice got physically switched. It's all data anyway, just a matter of whether you create a temporary deterministic data path per call, or packetize the data and let it route dynamically.