In a nutshell the way it works is fairly simple; a WiFi VoIP cellular phone such as those provided by Viper Networks and ZyXel access to a VoIP enabled Wireless LAN. The neat thing about this arrangement is that you can access the VoIP enabled network from anywhere you can get wireless access which means you can now talk via your VoIP service from wireless hot spots worldwide. This is a great new opportunity for those of you who travel often. Typically the wireless access needs to be 802.11 compatible.

The technology is gaining use in certain vertical markets rapidly such as healthcare and retail where employees are often away from a phone, but close enough to the wireless access point. This mobility adds a new freedom in organizations and can substantially increase worker efficiency.

Of course, the whole reason i mentioned in the beginning that this technology is taking shape, is that like everything else neat and wonderful, it comes with challenges that have yet to be totally overcome for widespread adoption. The 802.11 standard has some scalability issues that preclude it from being a viable medium for widespread enterprise level wireless VoIP deployment. The familiar QOS or Quality of Service issues that have plagued VoIP adoption are still an issue in a wireless application. A new version of 802.11 on the horizon is slated to include QOS support. Fast roaming is required for uninterrupted transmission. This is also a proposed feature of yet another version of the 802.11 spec.

Click Here for the Full Story