Mobile VoIP
Encyclopedia
Mobile VoIP or simply mVoIP is an extension of mobility to a Voice over IP network. Two types of communication are generally supported: cordless/DECT/PCS
protocols for short range or campus communications where all base stations are linked into the same LAN, and wider area communications using 3G
/4G
protocols.
There are several methodologies by which a mobile handset can be integrated into a VoIP network. One implementation turns the mobile device into a standard SIP
client, which then uses a data network to send and receive SIP messaging, and to send and receive RTP for the voice path. This methodology of turning a mobile handset into a standard SIP client requires that the mobile handset support, at minimum, high speed IP communications. In this application, standard VoIP protocols (typically SIP) are used over any broadband IP-capable wireless network connection such as EVDO rev A (which is symmetrical high speed — both high speed up and down), HSDPA, WiFi
or WiMAX
.
Another implementation of mobile integration uses a softswitch like gateway to bridge SIP and RTP into the mobile network's SS7 infrastructure. In this implementation, the mobile handset continues to operate as it always has (as a GSM or CDMA based device), but now it can be controlled by a SIP application server which can now provide advanced SIP based services to it. Several vendors offer this kind of capability today.
Mobile VoIP will require a compromise between economy and mobility. For example, Voice over Wi-Fi offers potentially free service but is only available within the coverage area of a single Wi-Fi Access Point. Cordless protocols offer excellent voice support and even support base station handoff, but require all base stations to communicate on one LAN as the handoff protocol is generally not supported by carriers or most devices.
High speed services from mobile operators using EVDO rev A or HSDPA may have better audio quality and capabilities for metropolitan-wide coverage including fast handoffs among mobile base stations, yet it will cost more than the typical Wi-Fi-based VoIP service.
As device manufacturers exploited more powerful processors and less costly memory, smartphones became capable of sending and receiving email, browsing the web (albeit at low rates) and allowing a user to watch TV. Mobile VoIP userswere predicted to exceed 100 million by 2012 and InStat projects 288 million subscribers by 2013.
The mobile operator industry business model conflicts with the expectations of Internet users that access is free and fast without extra charges for visiting specific sites, however far away they may be hosted. Because of this, most innovations in mobile VoIP will likely come from campus and corporate networks, open source
projects like Asterisk
, and applications where the benefits are high enough to justify expensive experiments (medical, military, etc.).
— the standard used by most VoIP services, and now being implemented on mobile handsets and smartphone
s and an increasing number of cordless
phones.
UMA — the Unlicensed Mobile Access Generic Access Network
allows VoIP to run over the GSM cellular backbone.
When moving between IP-based networks, as is typically the case for outdoor applications, two other protocols are required:
For indoor or campus (cordless phone equivalent) use, the IEEE P1905 protocol establishes QoS guarantees for home area networks: WiFi
, Bluetooth
, 3G
, 4G
and wired backbones using AC powerline networking/HomePlug
/IEEE P1901
, Ethernet
and Power over Ethernet
/IEEE 802.3af/IEEE 802.3at, MoCA
and G.hn
. In combination with IEEE 802.21
, P1905 permits a call to be initiated on a wired phone and transferred to a wireless one and then resumed on a wired one, perhaps with additional capabilities such as videoconferencing
in another room. In this case the use of mobile VoIP enables a continuous conversation that originates, and ends with, a wired terminal device.
An older technology, PCS
base station handoff, specifies equivalent capabilities for cordless phones based on 800, 900, 2.4, 5.8 and DECT. While these capabilities were not widely implemented, they did provide the functional specification
for handoff for modern IP-based telephony. A phone can in theory offer both PCS cordless and mobile VoIP and permit calls to be handed off from traditional cordless to cell and back to cordless if both the PCS and UMA/SIP/IEEE standards suites are implemented. Some specialized long distance cordless vendors like Senao attempted this but it has not generally caught on. A more popular approach has been full-spectrum handsets that can communicate with any wireless network including mobile VoIP, DECT and satellite phone
networks, but which have limited handoff capabilities between networks. The intent of IEEE 802.21
and IEEE 802.11u
is that they be added to such phones running iPhone
, QNX
, Android or other smartphone
operating systems, yielding a phone that is capable of communicating with literally any digital network and maintaining a continuous call at high reliability at a low access cost.
Most VoIP vendors implement proprietary technologies that permit such handoff between equipment of their own manufacture, e.g. the Viera
system from Panasonic
. Typically providing mobility costs more, e.g. the Panasonic VoIP cordless phone system (KX-TGP) costs approximately three times more than its popular DECT PSTN equivalent (KX-TGA). Some companies, including Cisco
, offer adapters for analog/DECT phones as alternatives to their expensive cordless.
even on low end routers like the Linksys
WRT54G
. http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+Linksys+WRT54G, suggesting a mesh network (e.g. WDS
) composed of such cheap devices could similarly support roaming mobile VoIP phones. These experiments, and others for IP roaming such as Sputnik, were the beginning of the 5G
protocol suite including IEEE 802.21
and IEEE 802.11u
. At this time, most mobile operators attempted to restrict IP tethering and VoIP use on their networks, often by deliberately introducing high latency
into data communications making it useless for voice traffic.
) stack was introduced and a VoIP client in Nokia E-series dual-mode Wi-Fi handsets (Nokia E60
, Nokia E61
, Nokia E70
). The SIP stack and client have since been introduced in many more E and N-series dual-mode Wi-Fi handsets, most notably the Nokia N95
which has been very popular in Europe. Various services use these handsets.
) running Series 40 operating system. Since then other dualmode WiFi capable Series40 handsets have been equipped with integrated VoIP (Nokia 6260 Slide
, Nokia X3-02, Nokia C3-01, Nokia Asha 303
...). Nokia maintains a list of all phones that have an integrated VoIP client in Forum Nokia.
Aircell's battle with some companies allowing VoIP calls on flights is another example of the growing conflict of interest between incumbent operators and new VoIP operators.
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=18493 was capable of supporting mobile VoIP applications via Asterisk
running on a USB stick. As OpenWRT runs on most WiFi
routers, this radically expanded the potential reach of mobile VoIP applications. Users reported acceptable results using G.729
codecs and connections to a "main NAT/Firewall router with a NAT=yes and canreinvite=no.. As such, my asterisk will stay in the audio path and can't redirect the RTP media stream (audio) to go directly from the caller to the callee." Minor problems were also reported: "Whenever there is an I/O activities ... i.e. reading the Flash space (mtdblockd process), this will create some hick-ups (or temporarily losing audio signals)." The combination of OpenWRT and Asterisk is intended as an open source replacement for proprietary PBX
es.
The company xG Technology, Inc. had a mobile VoIP and data system operating in the license-free ISM 900 MHz band (902 MHz – 928 MHz). xMax
is an end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) system infrastructure that is currently deployed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Panasonic introduced the KX-TGP base station supporting up to 6 cordless handsets http://panasonic.net/pcc/products/sipphone/products/kxtgp550_feat.html, essentially a VoIP complement to its popular KX-TGA analog phones which likewise support up to 4 cordless handsets. However, unlike the analog system which supports only four handsets in one "conference" on one line, the TGP supports 3 simultaneous network conversations and up to 8 SIP registrations (e.g. up to 8 DID lines or extensions), as well as an Ethernet pass-through port to hook up computers on the same drop. In its publicity Panasonic specifically mentions Digium
(founded by the creator of Asterisk
), its product Switchvox and Asterisk itself.
Several router manufacturers including TRENDnet and Netgear
released sub-$300 Power over Ethernet
switches aimed at the VoIP market. Unlike industry standard switches that provided the full 30 watts of power per port, these allowed under 50 watts of power to all four PoE ports combined. This made them entirely suitable for VoIP and other low-power use (Motorola Canopy or security camera or WiFi
APs) typical of a SOHO
application, or supporting an 8-line PBX, especially in combination with a multi-line handset such as the Panasonic KX-TGP (which does not require a powered port).
Accordingly, by the end of 2011, for under US$3000 it was possible to build an office VoIP system based entirely on cordless technology capable of several hundred meters reach and on power-over-ethernet dedicated wired phones, with up to 8 DID lines and 3 simultaneous conversations per base station, with 24 handsets each capable of communicating on any subset of the 8 lines, plus an unlimited number of softphones running on computers and laptops and smartphones. This compared favourably to proprietary PBX
technology especially as VoIP cordless was far cheaper than PBX cordless.
Cisco also released the SPA112, an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) to connect one or two standard RJ-11 telephones to an Ethernet, in November 2011, retailing for under US$50. This was a competitive response to major cordless vendors such as Panasonic moving into the business VoIP cordless market Cisco had long dominated, as it suppressed the market for the cordless makers' native VoIP phones and permitted Cisco to argue the business case to spend more on switches and less on terminal devices. However, this solution would not permit the analog phones to access every line of a multi-line PBX
, only one hardwired line per phone.
As of late 2011, most cellular data networks were still extremely high latency and effectively useless for VoIP. IP-only providers such as Voipstream had begun to serve urban areas, and alternative approaches such as OpenBTS
(open source GSM) were competing with mobile VoIP.
Functionalities of the phone.
MobileDialers are available for various Smartphone/PDA platforms:
PCS
- Medicine :* Post-concussion syndrome, a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or even years after a concussion* Postcholecystectomy syndrome, the presence of abdominal symptoms after surgery to remove the gallbladder...
protocols for short range or campus communications where all base stations are linked into the same LAN, and wider area communications using 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
/4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
protocols.
There are several methodologies by which a mobile handset can be integrated into a VoIP network. One implementation turns the mobile device into a standard SIP
Session Initiation Protocol
The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
client, which then uses a data network to send and receive SIP messaging, and to send and receive RTP for the voice path. This methodology of turning a mobile handset into a standard SIP client requires that the mobile handset support, at minimum, high speed IP communications. In this application, standard VoIP protocols (typically SIP) are used over any broadband IP-capable wireless network connection such as EVDO rev A (which is symmetrical high speed — both high speed up and down), HSDPA, WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
or WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
.
Another implementation of mobile integration uses a softswitch like gateway to bridge SIP and RTP into the mobile network's SS7 infrastructure. In this implementation, the mobile handset continues to operate as it always has (as a GSM or CDMA based device), but now it can be controlled by a SIP application server which can now provide advanced SIP based services to it. Several vendors offer this kind of capability today.
Mobile VoIP will require a compromise between economy and mobility. For example, Voice over Wi-Fi offers potentially free service but is only available within the coverage area of a single Wi-Fi Access Point. Cordless protocols offer excellent voice support and even support base station handoff, but require all base stations to communicate on one LAN as the handoff protocol is generally not supported by carriers or most devices.
High speed services from mobile operators using EVDO rev A or HSDPA may have better audio quality and capabilities for metropolitan-wide coverage including fast handoffs among mobile base stations, yet it will cost more than the typical Wi-Fi-based VoIP service.
As device manufacturers exploited more powerful processors and less costly memory, smartphones became capable of sending and receiving email, browsing the web (albeit at low rates) and allowing a user to watch TV. Mobile VoIP userswere predicted to exceed 100 million by 2012 and InStat projects 288 million subscribers by 2013.
The mobile operator industry business model conflicts with the expectations of Internet users that access is free and fast without extra charges for visiting specific sites, however far away they may be hosted. Because of this, most innovations in mobile VoIP will likely come from campus and corporate networks, open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
projects like Asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
, and applications where the benefits are high enough to justify expensive experiments (medical, military, etc.).
Technologies
Mobile VoIP, like all VoIP, relies on SIPSession Initiation Protocol
The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
— the standard used by most VoIP services, and now being implemented on mobile handsets and smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s and an increasing number of cordless
Cordless
The term cordless literally means without a cord and is generally used to refer to electrical or electronic devices that are powered by a battery or battery pack and can operate without a power cord or cable attached to a fixed electricity supply such as an outlet, generator, or other centralized...
phones.
UMA — the Unlicensed Mobile Access Generic Access Network
Generic Access Network
Generic Access Network or GAN is a telecommunication system that extends mobile voice, data and IP Multimedia Subsystem/Session Initiation Protocol applications over IP networks...
allows VoIP to run over the GSM cellular backbone.
When moving between IP-based networks, as is typically the case for outdoor applications, two other protocols are required:
- IEEE 802.21IEEE 802.21802.21 is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover or vertical handover...
handoff, permitting one network to do call setup and initial traffic, handing off to another when the first is about to fall out of range - the underlying network need not be IP-based, but typically the IP stream is guaranteed a certain Quality of ServiceQuality of serviceThe quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
(QoS) during the handoff process - IEEE 802.11uIEEE 802.11uIEEE 802.11u-2011 is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard to add features that improve interworking with external networks.802.11 is a family of IEEE technical standards for mobile communication devices such as laptop computers or multi-mode phones to join a wireless local area network ...
call initiation when the initial contact with a network is not one that the user has subscribed to or been in contact with before.
For indoor or campus (cordless phone equivalent) use, the IEEE P1905 protocol establishes QoS guarantees for home area networks: WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
, Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
, 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
, 4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
and wired backbones using AC powerline networking/HomePlug
HomePlug
HomePlug is the family name for various power line communications specifications that support networking over existing home electrical wiring. Several specifications exist under the HomePlug moniker, with each offering unique performance capabilities and coexistence or compatibility with other...
/IEEE P1901
IEEE P1901
The IEEE 1901 working group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers develops standards for high speed power line communications....
, Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
and Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, on Ethernet cabling. The IEEE standard for PoE requires category 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate with category 3 cable for low power levels...
/IEEE 802.3af/IEEE 802.3at, MoCA
MOCA
-Museums:* Museum of Chinese in America, a museum in New York City which exhibits Chinese American history* Museum of Contemporary Art , any of several museums with this title...
and G.hn
G.hn
G.hn is the common name for a home network technology family of standards developed under the International Telecommunication Union's Standardization arm and promoted by the HomeGrid Forum...
. In combination with IEEE 802.21
IEEE 802.21
802.21 is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover or vertical handover...
, P1905 permits a call to be initiated on a wired phone and transferred to a wireless one and then resumed on a wired one, perhaps with additional capabilities such as videoconferencing
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously...
in another room. In this case the use of mobile VoIP enables a continuous conversation that originates, and ends with, a wired terminal device.
An older technology, PCS
PCS
- Medicine :* Post-concussion syndrome, a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or even years after a concussion* Postcholecystectomy syndrome, the presence of abdominal symptoms after surgery to remove the gallbladder...
base station handoff, specifies equivalent capabilities for cordless phones based on 800, 900, 2.4, 5.8 and DECT. While these capabilities were not widely implemented, they did provide the functional specification
Functional specification
A functional specification in systems engineering and software development is the documentation that describes the requested behavior of an engineering system...
for handoff for modern IP-based telephony. A phone can in theory offer both PCS cordless and mobile VoIP and permit calls to be handed off from traditional cordless to cell and back to cordless if both the PCS and UMA/SIP/IEEE standards suites are implemented. Some specialized long distance cordless vendors like Senao attempted this but it has not generally caught on. A more popular approach has been full-spectrum handsets that can communicate with any wireless network including mobile VoIP, DECT and satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
networks, but which have limited handoff capabilities between networks. The intent of IEEE 802.21
IEEE 802.21
802.21 is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover or vertical handover...
and IEEE 802.11u
IEEE 802.11u
IEEE 802.11u-2011 is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard to add features that improve interworking with external networks.802.11 is a family of IEEE technical standards for mobile communication devices such as laptop computers or multi-mode phones to join a wireless local area network ...
is that they be added to such phones running iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, QNX
QNX
QNX is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market. The product was originally developed by Canadian company, QNX Software Systems, which was later acquired by Canadian BlackBerry-producer Research In Motion.-Description:As a microkernel-based...
, Android or other smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
operating systems, yielding a phone that is capable of communicating with literally any digital network and maintaining a continuous call at high reliability at a low access cost.
Most VoIP vendors implement proprietary technologies that permit such handoff between equipment of their own manufacture, e.g. the Viera
Viera
-Names:*Viera, possibly a variant spelling of Vieira, is a common Galician surname.*Viera is an Italian surname, mostly of the north.*Viera is a female name in Slovakia ....
system from Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
. Typically providing mobility costs more, e.g. the Panasonic VoIP cordless phone system (KX-TGP) costs approximately three times more than its popular DECT PSTN equivalent (KX-TGA). Some companies, including Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
, offer adapters for analog/DECT phones as alternatives to their expensive cordless.
2005
Early experiments proved that VoIP was practical and could be routed by AsteriskAsterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
even on low end routers like the Linksys
Linksys
Linksys by Cisco, commonly known as Linksys, is a brand of home and small office networking products now produced by Cisco Systems, though once a separate company founded in 1995 before being acquired by Cisco in 2003...
WRT54G
WRT54G
The Linksys WRT54G is a Wi-Fi capable residential gateway from Linksys. The device is capable of sharing Internet connections among several computers via 802.3 Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless data links.-WRT54G:The original WRT54G was first released in December 2002...
. http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+Linksys+WRT54G, suggesting a mesh network (e.g. WDS
WDS
WDS may stand for:*Walt Disney Studios, various entertainment related companies*Wireless distribution system, a wireless Bridging technology*Wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, a materials analysis method...
) composed of such cheap devices could similarly support roaming mobile VoIP phones. These experiments, and others for IP roaming such as Sputnik, were the beginning of the 5G
5G
5G is a name used in some research papers and projects to denote the next major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond the 4G/IMT-Advanced standards effective since 2011...
protocol suite including IEEE 802.21
IEEE 802.21
802.21 is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover or vertical handover...
and IEEE 802.11u
IEEE 802.11u
IEEE 802.11u-2011 is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard to add features that improve interworking with external networks.802.11 is a family of IEEE technical standards for mobile communication devices such as laptop computers or multi-mode phones to join a wireless local area network ...
. At this time, most mobile operators attempted to restrict IP tethering and VoIP use on their networks, often by deliberately introducing high latency
Latency
Latency or latent may refer to:*Latency period , the time between exposure to a pathogen, chemical or radiation, and when symptoms first become apparent...
into data communications making it useless for voice traffic.
2006
In the summer of 2006, a SIP (Session Initiation ProtocolSession Initiation Protocol
The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
) stack was introduced and a VoIP client in Nokia E-series dual-mode Wi-Fi handsets (Nokia E60
Nokia E60
The Nokia E60 is a traditional candybar style smartphone from the Eseries business phone range, a S60 platform third edition device.- Key Features :* Symbian OS v9.1, Series 60 3rd Edition* 64 MB internal memory* WLAN with SIP compliant VoIP client...
, Nokia E61
Nokia E61
The Nokia E61 is a smartphone from the Eseries range, a Series 60 Third Edition device with a QWERTY keyboard targeting business users in the European market. As of Q4 2006 Cingular and Rogers Wireless have deployed a similar yet restricted version designated the Nokia E62 in the North American...
, Nokia E70
Nokia E70
The Nokia E70 is a candybar/fold keyboard type smartphone from the Eseries range, announced in October 2005 and released in May 2006 at a cost of approximately $500 with prices in July 2007 around $345...
). The SIP stack and client have since been introduced in many more E and N-series dual-mode Wi-Fi handsets, most notably the Nokia N95
Nokia N95
The Nokia N95 is a smartphone produced by Nokia as part of their Nseries line of portable devices. It was released in 2007. The N95 runs Symbian OS v9.2, with a S60 3rd Edition user interface. The phone has a two-way sliding mechanism, which can be used to access either media playback buttons or...
which has been very popular in Europe. Various services use these handsets.
2008
In spring 2008 Nokia introduced a built in VoIP client to the mass market device (Nokia 6300iNokia 6300i
The Nokia 6300i is a mobile telephone handset produced by Nokia. It is an upgraded version of Nokia 6300 and has the same design as the 6300, but adds WLAN/VoIP capability.The device is designed for typical use in Europe and only distributed there....
) running Series 40 operating system. Since then other dualmode WiFi capable Series40 handsets have been equipped with integrated VoIP (Nokia 6260 Slide
Nokia 6260 Slide
- Features :Among its key features are integrated A-GPS with included maps, WLAN, VoIP, a 5.0 megapixel camera with LED flash, WebKit Open Source Browser, Flash Lite 3.0, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and MIDP Java 2.1 with additional Java APIs.- Specification sheet :...
, Nokia X3-02, Nokia C3-01, Nokia Asha 303
Nokia Asha 303
The Nokia Asha 303 is a "Touch & Type" phone powered by Nokia Series 40 operating system. It was announced at Nokia World 2011 in London along with three others Asha phones; the Nokia Asha 200, 201 and 300. The Nokia Asha 303 is considered to be the flagship of the Asha family...
...). Nokia maintains a list of all phones that have an integrated VoIP client in Forum Nokia.
Aircell's battle with some companies allowing VoIP calls on flights is another example of the growing conflict of interest between incumbent operators and new VoIP operators.
2009
By January 2009 OpenWRTOpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=18493 was capable of supporting mobile VoIP applications via Asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
running on a USB stick. As OpenWRT runs on most WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
routers, this radically expanded the potential reach of mobile VoIP applications. Users reported acceptable results using G.729
G.729
G.729 is an audio data compression algorithm for voice that compresses digital voice in packets of 10 milliseconds duration. It is officially described as Coding of speech at 8 kbit/s using conjugate-structure algebraic code-excited linear prediction .Because of its low bandwidth requirements,...
codecs and connections to a "main NAT/Firewall router with a NAT=yes and canreinvite=no.. As such, my asterisk will stay in the audio path and can't redirect the RTP media stream (audio) to go directly from the caller to the callee." Minor problems were also reported: "Whenever there is an I/O activities ... i.e. reading the Flash space (mtdblockd process), this will create some hick-ups (or temporarily losing audio signals)." The combination of OpenWRT and Asterisk is intended as an open source replacement for proprietary PBX
PBX
PBX may refer to:*Pioneer Natural Resources' stock ticker symbol*Polymer-bonded explosive*Pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox*Private branch exchange, a telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office*PBX, a rewrite of the Project Builder IDE...
es.
The company xG Technology, Inc. had a mobile VoIP and data system operating in the license-free ISM 900 MHz band (902 MHz – 928 MHz). xMax
XMax
xMax developed by xG Technology, Inc. is a cognitive radio based mobile VoIP and data system operating in the license-free ISM 900MHz band . xMax is built upon an end-to-end Internet Protocol system infrastructure that includes a line of base stations, mobile switching centers , handsets, and...
is an end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) system infrastructure that is currently deployed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
2011
The mainstreaming of VoIP in the small business market led to the introduction of more devices extending VoIP to business cordless users.Panasonic introduced the KX-TGP base station supporting up to 6 cordless handsets http://panasonic.net/pcc/products/sipphone/products/kxtgp550_feat.html, essentially a VoIP complement to its popular KX-TGA analog phones which likewise support up to 4 cordless handsets. However, unlike the analog system which supports only four handsets in one "conference" on one line, the TGP supports 3 simultaneous network conversations and up to 8 SIP registrations (e.g. up to 8 DID lines or extensions), as well as an Ethernet pass-through port to hook up computers on the same drop. In its publicity Panasonic specifically mentions Digium
Digium
Digium, Inc. is a privately held communications technology company based in Huntsville, Alabama. Digium specializes in developing and manufacturing communications hardware and telephony software, most notably the open-source telephony platform Asterisk....
(founded by the creator of Asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
), its product Switchvox and Asterisk itself.
Several router manufacturers including TRENDnet and Netgear
Netgear
Netgear is a U.S. manufacturer of computer networking equipment and other computer hardware....
released sub-$300 Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, on Ethernet cabling. The IEEE standard for PoE requires category 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate with category 3 cable for low power levels...
switches aimed at the VoIP market. Unlike industry standard switches that provided the full 30 watts of power per port, these allowed under 50 watts of power to all four PoE ports combined. This made them entirely suitable for VoIP and other low-power use (Motorola Canopy or security camera or WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
APs) typical of a SOHO
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
application, or supporting an 8-line PBX, especially in combination with a multi-line handset such as the Panasonic KX-TGP (which does not require a powered port).
Accordingly, by the end of 2011, for under US$3000 it was possible to build an office VoIP system based entirely on cordless technology capable of several hundred meters reach and on power-over-ethernet dedicated wired phones, with up to 8 DID lines and 3 simultaneous conversations per base station, with 24 handsets each capable of communicating on any subset of the 8 lines, plus an unlimited number of softphones running on computers and laptops and smartphones. This compared favourably to proprietary PBX
PBX
PBX may refer to:*Pioneer Natural Resources' stock ticker symbol*Polymer-bonded explosive*Pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox*Private branch exchange, a telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office*PBX, a rewrite of the Project Builder IDE...
technology especially as VoIP cordless was far cheaper than PBX cordless.
Cisco also released the SPA112, an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) to connect one or two standard RJ-11 telephones to an Ethernet, in November 2011, retailing for under US$50. This was a competitive response to major cordless vendors such as Panasonic moving into the business VoIP cordless market Cisco had long dominated, as it suppressed the market for the cordless makers' native VoIP phones and permitted Cisco to argue the business case to spend more on switches and less on terminal devices. However, this solution would not permit the analog phones to access every line of a multi-line PBX
PBX
PBX may refer to:*Pioneer Natural Resources' stock ticker symbol*Polymer-bonded explosive*Pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox*Private branch exchange, a telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office*PBX, a rewrite of the Project Builder IDE...
, only one hardwired line per phone.
As of late 2011, most cellular data networks were still extremely high latency and effectively useless for VoIP. IP-only providers such as Voipstream had begun to serve urban areas, and alternative approaches such as OpenBTS
OpenBTS
OpenBTS is a software-based GSM access point, allowing standard GSM-compatible mobile phones to make telephone calls without using existing telecommunication providers' networks...
(open source GSM) were competing with mobile VoIP.
Software clients
MobileDialer, as they are termed, enable cell phones be turned into voip enabled devices to exploit and expose the Vo3G/VowlanVowlan
VoWLAN is the use of a wireless broadband network according to the IEEE 802.11 standards for the purpose of vocal conversation. In essence, it's VoIP over a Wi-Fi network...
Functionalities of the phone.
MobileDialers are available for various Smartphone/PDA platforms:
- Bulk MobileDialer for VOIP Companies. Companies like E-Soft Billing(SIP Mobile Dialer),Ascent Telecom (Endura Mobile Dialer), REVE Systems (iTel Mobile Dialer Express), adoresoft, etc. have released Mobile dialers which can be used by other VoIP Providers. REVE Systems, which is a premium VoIP solution provider company, claims that iTel Mobile Dialer Express, which is a Mobile Dialer application for Internet telephony service providerInternet telephony service providerAn Internet telephony service provider offers digital telecommunications services based on Voice over Internet Protocol that are provisioned via the Internet....
, supports largest range of Symbian Based Nokia handsets. iTel Mobile Dialer Express is also known as "lightest Mobile Dialer" in the industry is available for Symbian, Windows and Blackberry operating System based Mobile Phones.
- Mobile Dialers available for retail end user. Many VoIP companies have started providing their customers with a mVoIP client/Mobile Dialer to use the product directly from the user's capable mobile phones.
- 1legcall1legcall1legcall, is a mobile VoIP dialer that works on most Nokia phones.-Description:1LegCall is a mobile dialer application that uses existing mobile handsets to deliver a call solution using VoIP technology...
- AudioCodesAudioCodesAudioCodes Ltd. designs, develops, and sells products for voice, data, and video over IP networks. The company is an early pioneer of the VoIP industry having shipped VoIP solutions as early as 1995.-Company history:...
- Bria Android Edition by CounterPath CorporationCounterPath CorporationCounterPath Corporation is a provider of desktop and mobile VoIP software products and solutions. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, CounterPath has 71 employees and annual revenue of USD $11 Million as of 2011...
- Bria iPad Edition by CounterPath CorporationCounterPath CorporationCounterPath Corporation is a provider of desktop and mobile VoIP software products and solutions. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, CounterPath has 71 employees and annual revenue of USD $11 Million as of 2011...
- Bria iPhone Edition by CounterPath CorporationCounterPath CorporationCounterPath Corporation is a provider of desktop and mobile VoIP software products and solutions. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, CounterPath has 71 employees and annual revenue of USD $11 Million as of 2011...
- deltathreeDeltathreeDeltathree Inc. is an American company engaged in the business of voice over IP telephony services.Users can either use the free softdialer product and make calls through their PC, or sign up for the broadband phone service and receive an Analog Telephony Adapter or the linksys PAP2 device...
- EQOEQOEQO is a downloadable mobile application that brings free instant messaging, low-cost mobile VoIP and free or low-cost text messaging to mobile phones from manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, BlackBerry and HTC...
- iConnectHereIConnectHereiConnectHere is the consumer division of Deltathree , which provides VoIP internet telephony service to consumers and businesses worldwide...
- JajahJajahJajah is a VoIP provider, founded by Austrians Roman Scharf and Daniel Mattes in 2005. The Jajah headquarters are located in Mountain View, CA, USA, and Luxembourg. Jajah maintains a development centre in Israel...
- JaxtrJaxtrJaxtr is a social communications company that melds together global calling, SMS, and social networking. Founded by Phillip Mobin and Touraj Parang in October 2005, jaxtr uses Voice over Internet Protocol to offer competitive rates as well as free international and long distance calling...
- MobivoxMobivoxMobivox is an international calling service utilizing Voice over Internet Protocol and Interactive Voice Response to bring recuced rate calling to those that register as Mobivox users. Mobivox combines VoIP and IVR to create a new telephony product...
- MorodoMorodoMorodo is a software based provider of the low-cost and free communication service called MO-Call which includes desktop, mobile and web applications. It enables low cost text messaging, low cost international calls and instant messaging services, saving its users up to 90% on phone bills compared...
- Nimbuzz IMNimbuzz IMNimbuzz IM is a free peer-to-peer mobile and desktop application service that enables people to chat/ call from their mobile phones and desktop applications. Co founded by Evert Jaap Lugt, Nimbuzz IM allows users to add their Gtalk, Facebook, Yahoo, Windows Live, AIM, Twitter, MySpace IM, ICQ and...
- Radvision
- RebtelRebtelRebtel is a Mobile VoIP provider, founded in 2006 in Sweden by Hjalmar Winbladh and Jonas Lindroth. The Rebtel offices are located in Stockholm, Sweden and Luxembourg....
- SkypeSkypeSkype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
- Line2 by Toktumi
- Tru app
- VopiumVopiumVopium is a software-based provider of free and low-cost international mobile communication via VoIP and Wi-Fi technology. Vopium offers a free application that can be downloaded directly to mobile phones to enable cheap international mobile phone calls and Short message service text messaging,...
- VoxofonVoxofonVOXOFON is a VoIP telephony service for making and receiving international phone calls. Voxofon blends earlier VoIP technology with newer technology so callers can use a land line, a computer, cell phone or smart phone....
See also
- IP Multimedia SubsystemIP Multimedia SubsystemThe IP Multimedia Subsystem or IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem is an architectural framework for delivering Internet Protocol multimedia services. It was originally designed by the wireless standards body 3rd Generation Partnership Project , as a part of the vision for evolving mobile...
(IMS), a set of specifications from 3GPP3GPPThe 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
for delivering VoIP and other IP multimedia to cellular users - Fixed mobile convergence
- MoIPMoIPMoIP, or mobile communications over internet protocol, is the mobilization of peer-to-peer communications including chat and talk using internet protocol via standard mobile communications applications including 3G, GPRS, Wifi as well as Wimax. Unlike mobile VoIP, MoIP is not a VoIP program made...
- UpsnapUpsnapUpSNAP is the name of both a mobile-oriented search engine and the company that runs the search engine. UpSNAP developed a patented method of accepting queries and producing results via text messaging, aka SMS...
- Voice over IPVoice over IPVoice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
- VowlanVowlanVoWLAN is the use of a wireless broadband network according to the IEEE 802.11 standards for the purpose of vocal conversation. In essence, it's VoIP over a Wi-Fi network...
— VoIP over a Wi-Fi network - VoLGA ForumVOLGA ForumVoLGA Forum was formed in March 2009 by a group of companies in the wireless industry in an effort to define a set of specifications for enabling delivery of voice services over 3GPP Long Term Evolution access networks based on the current 3GPP Generic Access Network standard.VoLGA is an acronym...
— Voice over LTE via Generic Access - List of SIP software