Apple iPhone in the Enterprise?
Note: I have been thinking the same thing about how open the iPhone will be. To truly be adopted into enterprises they will need to have the phone open enough to get some integration in enterprise applications.
No doubt the Apple iPhone will create a stir regarding the kind of services and applications dual-mode devices can deliver. But the success of dual-mode -- cellular plus Wi-Fi -- in the enterprise may depend on the willingness of cellular carriers to share their networks with Wi-Fi providers. One source tells me that both T-Mobile and Cingular, now AT&T, will drop any VoIP phone call originating from a handset if Skype is the service provider.
This kind of anticompetitive behavior won't last long, but at the moment, if true, it is worth considering, especially as carriers themselves begin dabbling in VoIP. T-Mobile, for one, is currently test-marketing its own VoIP service in Seattle.
If blocking VoIP calls sounds far-fetched, consider that Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, told me other carriers have VoIP capability but don’t want that fact known. He refused to mention which carriers.
Before standardizing on a dual-mode phone, enterprises should also consider the true ubiquity of the network. Uptime in airports and coffee shops is not the same as door-to-door coverage and would preclude using any serious business application on a dual-mode phone.
I spoke with Mohan Natarajan, vice president of engineering at Firetide, about this concern.
Firetide, and other mesh-networking companies, can greatly extend your Wi-Fi capabilities by deploying mesh nodes throughout a city. At present, Firetide has 3,000 nodes in a 50-square-mile section of Singapore, giving users 70Mbps access. Here in the States, however, mesh hasn't caught on, except in the public-safety sector, for which Firetide has deployed mesh networks in Dallas and Phoenix.
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Posted to VoIP News