Is wireless VOIP the future of communication?

Seamless transition from network to network via wireless VOIP technologies will be the driving force in telecoms innovation, believes Sadiq Malik, director of business operations at BCT Global.

Speaking yesterday at the VOIP World Africa conference in Sandton, Malik told delegates that voice over wireless LAN will be the single most important and disruptive development in the telecoms field over the coming years.

"Voice over wireless LAN (VOWLAN) is the convergence of VOIP and wireless LAN - customers will have one device, with one phone number," he predicted.

"If one makes VOIP calls from inside a campus and moves out into a public space, the connection will seamlessly switch to the cellular network without disconnection."

An important battleground will emerge around the issue of who controls private networks - the telecoms companies, individual enterprises, or the government, Malik claimed.

"Technologies that can be used by either side to win the battle are available."

He emphasised that the Independent Communications Authority of SA will decide which technologies are going to dominate.

Co-panellist John Joslin, MD of FutureProof Consulting, added that the new Electronic Communications Act, which makes provision for local 'class` licences, will "open up the last mile" to new players.

Malik believes one of the key questions surrounding the development of VOWLAN is whether cell operators will embrace the technology.

Certain US cellular operators have expressed interest in offering VOIP on their networks, as soon as technology issues have been resolved, he told ITWeb on the sidelines of the event.

A recent report from US-based research firm Analysys suggests cellular carriers are vulnerable to competition from IP-based telephony.

"VOIP may look more attractive to those seeking to bypass mobile operators` voice tariffs," writes Mark Heath, co-author of the report.

Mike Brierley, CEO of MTN Network Solutions, urged delegates not to forget the pervasiveness of GSM. "GSM is king - it is the global standard."

He added that VOWLAN and voice over wireless WiFi lack the important feature of presence detection - the network`s ability to know where a user is at anytime.

Brierley claimed that costs of traditional and enhanced cellular networks in SA are relatively inexpensive. He told delegates that MTN and Vodacom pay only R5 million per year for their spectrum licences (plus R100 000 per MHz), compared to the lb5.94 billion and lb4.09 billion the UK`s Vodafone and Orange, respectively, paid for their spectrum licences.