First, it was cell phones that allowed us to talk, then cell phones that let us talk and see. Now, cell phones with Wi-Fi let us talk, see, surf and stay connected to the office. But wait, could it be that the traditional cell phone, 3G or not, is no longer needed or wanted? Could all of our metropolitan communications needs be met at a lower overall cost, using metro Wi-Fi ala Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)? Some in the industry claim it’s the latest trend and growing in demand in large metropolitan areas. Maturing wireless wide-area networking is offering mobile talkers a whole new voice channel that departs from cellular technology. It’s for VoIP that they cry.

RoamAD, a leading supplier of software for infrastructure-mesh metro Wi-Fi networks, recently undertook a survey of customers, partners and prospective purchasers of metro Wi-Fi networks in order to quantify the importance of mobile voice as a key application for metro Wi-Fi networks. RoamAD measured the requirements of customers and trends over the last 12 months. The survey results revealed that more than 75% of network operators and service providers surveyed now have mobile VoIP or mobile VoWiFi identified as a mandatory requirement for new metro Wi-Fi networks.

According to Martyn Levy, RoamAD's vice president of Business Development, the key driver is rapidly becoming mobile VoIP over mobile data. Nearly 50% of those RoamAD surveyed in the last three months identified mobile voice as being either as important as or more important than mobile broadband data. Twelve months ago, less than 10% of customers identified voice as a core application on their metro Wi-Fi networks. The growing interoperability between cellular and Wi-Fi networks also was cited as a major factor in the increase in demand for mobile VoIP/VoWiFi.

VoIP is becoming commonplace in homes and offices everywhere. Cost savings is a strong driver behind the shift toward VoIP and voice over Wi-Fi. For corporations with dozens or thousands of employees, it’s a “no-brainer”. The savings can be enormous. Even individuals state that the reason they changed from conventional phone service to VoIP is the money they save.

Esme Vos, founder of MuniWireless.com, believes that municipalities are looking to save millions of dollars every year by migrating their employees' mobile voice communications onto a citywide Wi-Fi network.

Close on the heels of metro Wi-Fi networks and integrated Wi-Fi/cellular devices is WiMAX, wireless microwave access. Work is underway to install WiMAX infrastructure, which has larger cell coverage and higher capacity than Wi-Fi.

Technology convergence and integration continues with some manufacturers working to bring it all together—cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX. Hmmm—I see videophones just around the bend bringing us mobile Voice and Video over Internet Protocol (VVoIP).

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