See the full article (no wsj.com subscription required) for details. I suspect the recent stimulus/response events in this industry had a lot to do with Apple's iPhone price cut.
Critics of the current U.S. wireless phone system have long advocated for a single phone that could make calls over a variety of wireless networks, without requiring users to jump through hoops.
Well, one of the American phone carriers, T-Mobile USA, has taken a step toward that ideal. It’s offering inexpensive phones that can make voice calls over either the company’s regular cell network or almost any Wi-Fi wireless network, including those inside your homes; open, password-free networks outside your home and T-Mobile’s system of 8,500 U.S. Wi-Fi hot spots in places like Starbucks shops.
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Take a look at EMBARQ's Smart Connect Plus (www.embarq.com) service, a full wi-fi/cellular seamless hand off and hand back. They announced theirs around the same time T-Mobile did, and based on what Mossberg wrote, I actually think it does a better job managing wireless minutes.
In my opinion, the real issue today with "dual mode" voice (wi-fi/cellular) comes down to handsets. Battery life, two sets of speakers and codecs, most being expensive PDA-like devices, and the ability to get registered quickly on a wi-fi network are just a few of the issues. Most handset companies seem to be working to resolve some of them.
What it really boils down to, however, it whether or not the cellular company will pay the handset manufacturer to optimize their device(s) for dual mode services. Most cellular service providers are reluctant to move to a Voice over IP/wi-fi environment (where the assumption is that the network is "free") and lose the ability to charge for minutes.
The handset manufacturers aren't going to do something that's contrary to their carrier client's needs, without being told to do it.
While T-Mobile's immediate response may have been due to the Apple price cuts, I believe that dual mode services (wi-fi/cellular convergence) still are in their infancy until the carriers decide there is sufficient customer demand.
One Salty Dog
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