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Pros and Cons of Wireless VoIP

Ordinary WI-FI freed users from their wired data network connections but not their telephones; VoIP over Wi-Fi completely severs users from their desktops. This new technology has been variously described as Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi), Voice over Wireless LAN (VoWLAN), Voice over Wireless IP (VoWIP), Wireless Voice over IP (WVoIP), Voice over IP over Wireless LAN (VoIPoWLAN), Mobile VoIP and Wi-Fi Telephony. It's made-to-order for workers who are on the go.

There are great expectations with wireless VoIP.  Most users are accustomed to cell phones and expect more portability than can be found in a VoIP softphone loaded on a laptop.  Also, some users prefer a handheld, broadband Wi-Fi-enabled phone or voice-enabled Wi-Fi PDA, while others will be satisfied with walkie-talkie communication over a Wi-Fi-extended LAN from a laptop or PDA/handheld.

So far, most wireless VoIP installations have been in hospitals, retail, manufacturing and warehousing. Soon, many workers who are always placing and receiving phone calls--not just at their desks but in conference rooms, other offices, or while roving the campus--will almost certainly adopt VoWiFi.

However, There are Still Some Fundamental Problems:

  • Poor coverage, interrupted voice service
  • Roaming latency
  • Security problems
  • Retransmission and dropped packets
  • Low capacity – reduced number of calls
  • High quality of service required for combined voice and data
  • Power consumption requirements

Paving the Way for a Better Wireless VoIP Experience

A number of companies are working to solve these problems. For example, Extricom Ltd., an Israeli R&D company, claims they can deliver a wireless LAN architecture that is friendly to voice traffic.

The Extricom system consists of a centralized switch that coordinates or orchestrates groups of ultra-thin access points. Ultra-thin means there is a complete absence of software or storage on the units. They are just radio conduits linking phones and computers to the switch.

What this means, is that the switch is aware of the status of the entire network for each packet that travels over it, so each packet is routed to the optimum path.  Using the Extricom system, a client does not associate with an access point, as in most other switch-based systems, but with the network - the switch itself. The Access Points (AP) are mere pipelines to which the switch dispatches packets.

If the stream is a phone call and the client is moving through the network, there is no need for the client to re-associate with new APs as the caller walks along. The switch just directs the packets to the most appropriate AP, based on actual conditions. Thus there is no latency, a key problem for mobile wireless VoIP.

Furthermore, since adjacent channels are not broadcasting (due to optimized central management), there is no RF interference in the system. This makes for greatly increased channel use efficiency and increased network capacity.

The same goes for range. Cancel interference, and the access point serves a larger space. The result: a wireless LAN architecture that is extremely friendly to voice traffic.