Wi-Fi/Cellular phones expected to take off

ABI Research has high hopes for mobile/Wi-Fi convergence. In fact, it's predicting that in 2010 more than 100 million dual-mode cellular-Wi-Fi handsets will be in consumer hands by the end of the decade.

According to ABI Senior Analyst Phillip Solis, two carriers, BT and Korea Telecom, are providing the necessary industry momentum. They plan on offering dual-mode services by the end of 2005, which, according to Solis "could start a very large ball rolling."

Dual-mode handsets would allow handoff between home and office wireless LANs, public hotspots and the wide area mobile network. While initially only the W-LAN portions of the network would conduct the calls over VoIP, mobile networks are expected to evolve to end-to-end IP, creating a seamless enhanced voice experience across multiple networks. Solis said that those capabilities won't be available in the first generation of dual-mode phones, but the handsets will have the intelligence to detect the power and availability of numerous connections, and determine which connection to use based on signal strength and relative price.

Key though will be the initial adoption of the services by both consumers and enterprises (who are expected to be some of the biggest users of dual mode service). While many smaller ISPs and VoIP providers have been exploring dual mode technology, big players like BT are necessary to drive volumes down and popularize the service.