>The 'calls
> over wifi are set up quicker', for example, simply confuses
> the fact that you use VOIP over WiFi with a claimed advantage
> of VOIP over PSTN. WiFi has nothing to do with it.
It does in the sense that roaming is (vaguely) possible with a Wi-Fi phone.
If you check out phones by the likes of Symbol and Pulver, the ability to
have up to 10 "local" numbers in a handset could lead to great cost
reductions for heavy international callers, ranging from emigrant
communities to business users.
> Will people bother to
> sign up for a separate service?
With the likes of YahooBB, you might not have to. VoIP roaming agreements
already exist in Japan between various ISP groupings, and the price is
right. At the moment, the handset has an 050 number but international
partnerships could result in handsets with local US and European numbers.
I've been using a Wifi VoIP phone in Japan with a San Francisco number, for
example.
Received on Mon Feb 16 12:15:28 2004