Comments on: Wi-Fi hotspots, the once and future network king http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/ Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:54:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Keith Erskine http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651659 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:24:57 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651659 I noticed this trend on my recent trip to the Berkshires. Every restaurant and coffee shop has WiFi available. One reason could be to have an easy way for LBS services to locate their customers in the site.

]]> By: Raymond Padilla http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651522 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:40:55 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651522 @Brendan UMA and WiFi Calling are two different services. I’ve used both on T-Mobile. The key differences are WiFi to mobile hand-off (UMA does this, WiFi Calling does not) and call quality (UMA is better). Currently, I believe on T-Mobile’s BlackBerry phones have UMA. Its Android phones have WiFi Calling.

]]> By: Derek Kerton http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651506 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:27:42 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651506 UMA required extra equipment in the network, and specialized upgrades in the handset. This meant that any carrier who wished to use it would immediately need to invest in network upgrades. This was not desirable.

T-Mo, as well as about 5 other carriers globally, got on board early on. T-Mo in the USA is notoriously spectrum-constrained, so they have an extra incentive to get voice and or data calls off of the cellular network.

But most carriers were turned off by the fact that UMA would require upgrades in every handset. So if T-Mo offers UMA, it STILL does not work in all their phones. And it has always been harder to get a phone from Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola, or whoever with customizations. So UMA had scalability, lack of momentum, increased cost, and reduced choice problems. No surprise, then, that it did not take off.

No conspiracy here. Just that it’s very tough to get a proprietary standard into the market.

Kineto has since re-launched their solution (the former UMA), and it now requires less customization on the phone. A simple Android app, and a Wi-Fi radio (or any fast IP connection) on a decent smartphone platform are all it takes. They are also integrating their solution into a 3GPP standard. That’s a better recipe for success.

Derek Kerton

]]> By: Brendan http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651494 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:30:07 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651494 Kevin and Stuart, is it mostly the carriers holding back UMA? T-Mobile has recently provided UMA “Wi-Fi” calling to more of their Android phones via a proprietary UMA “Wi-Fi calling” app produced for them by Kineto Wireless. Google’s flagship Android phone, the Nexus S, has been blocked (by Google? Samsung?) from use of T-Mobile UMA service. No one seems to have a good answer as to why, but it suggests Google / Andy Rubin doesn’t care about UMA despite all the benefits … btw T-Mobile / Kineto makes UMA Wi-Fi calling available for the Samsung Galaxy S which is essentially the same as the Nexus S.

]]> By: Kevin C. Tofel http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651465 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:38:16 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651465 That’s a great question, Stuart. I think part of the reason is lack of control over the network quality, and therefore over the voice service.

]]> By: Tal http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651462 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:33:46 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651462 “Seamless network transition” – yes Sir.
WiFi will have to play a huge role with the anticipated volume of data. The carrier pricing game-play is going to be policy based and I can see some services offered at different levels (of service) and different prices per logged network. Wifi is going to be billed differently – will not be free under the carrier wings.

]]> By: Stuart http://gigaom.com/2011/08/29/wi-fi-hotspots-the-once-and-future-network-king/#comment-651454 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:18:45 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=398547#comment-651454 I wonder why carriers didn’t jump towards UMA technology (except T-Mobile). Will IMS start a push towards using wifi not just for data but also for voice?

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