New Wi-Fi Standard Designed For VoIP - Allowing Smooth Transition Between Wi-Fi Hotspots
Monday September 1, 2008
This is good news for mobile VoIP users. The international body that caters for technologies and protocols, the IEEE, has approved a new version of Wi-Fi, specially intended for VoIP. It will be tagged 802.11r, and is characterized with the ability to make mobile devices transit from one hotspot to another during a phone call without hassle.
As at now, if you are on a call using a mobile Wi-Fi phone or device, switching from one Wi-Fi hotspot to another can be very bumpy, if this transition does not squarely end the call. Current Wi-Fi takes several seconds to make the transition. This new Wi-Fi version comes to correct that, allowing conversations to run smoothly even while moving between access points. It takes only 50 ms (50 thousandths of a second) for a handover.
There will however be some time before we can see the new protocol implemented in mobile communication devices. Manufacturers will have to adopt the new algorithm and embed it in new models of phones and mobile devices. It is more likely that implementation of 802.11r will be focused more on corporate VoIP equipment.
As at now, if you are on a call using a mobile Wi-Fi phone or device, switching from one Wi-Fi hotspot to another can be very bumpy, if this transition does not squarely end the call. Current Wi-Fi takes several seconds to make the transition. This new Wi-Fi version comes to correct that, allowing conversations to run smoothly even while moving between access points. It takes only 50 ms (50 thousandths of a second) for a handover.
There will however be some time before we can see the new protocol implemented in mobile communication devices. Manufacturers will have to adopt the new algorithm and embed it in new models of phones and mobile devices. It is more likely that implementation of 802.11r will be focused more on corporate VoIP equipment.
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