CNET News Daily Podcast: AT&T finally warms to VoIP

[Kobe Wadsworth]

In today's podcast, we get CNET News writer Tom Krazit in the studio to talk about yesterday's news that AT&T will finally allow voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications to run on its network. This opens up the field for apps from Vonage and Skype to actually compete with AT&T's business, and possibly bring Google's Voice service to Apple's iPhone.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11424_3-10370102-90.html
Follow link for podcast.

[Alan J Weissberger]

VoIP in Russia from Yota:

http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/russias-yota-offer-voip-wimax-device/2009-10-11

I thought this already happened with the HTC WiMAX phone being sold in Russia by Yota

[Kobe Wadsworth]

This opens the door for competion to begin, voip over 3G to 4G.

AT&T was aware of the advantage that Clear would have in 80 plus markets, in the next 14 months.

Of course the FCC probe helped to kick start this open approach.

Once the phone companies quit focusing on there minute revenue numbers, and realized the FCC was doing them a favor, by showing them what is the here and now, i'm sure it was an easy decission.

When the FCC makes major changes, it affects the world. It took a monopoly break up to get us here, some twenty years later. I think things are going to move much faster with these recent initiatives

We know voip works over wimax, just how well will handsets work, and will the handoff be seamless?

[Jose Puthenkulam]

Yes. I have been running VoIP using Vonage over WiMAX since Jan 2009. Its been working like a charm. Also recently Vonage introduced the flat rate International calling plan. With this my monthly bills have been significantly reduced.

As I predicted before, VoIP is the next big transition in Mobile Voice. AT&T's move for enabling VoIP just shows the inevitability of such a transition.

For consumers, this is a great time for lower cost mobile VoIP based plans. Also it will improve the mobile VoIP & mobile data application integration to offer new services and call routing and answerin methods, people have only dreamed off.

Fixed broadband, DSL and Cable providers already offer VoIP plans and these plans are growing compared to circuit switched plans that are declining. So now its the turn for Mobile VoIP.

[Alan J Weissberger]

Kobe,

Does this tell us anything about VoIP over WiMAX?

I think you can do Skype over WiFi over WiMAX from Clearwire if you have a Clearspot and WiMAX modem. Sprint sells and equivalent Personal Hotspot PHS300S and business-targeted Cradlepoint MBR-1000 Broadband Router. The Sprint wireless routers let users connect to Sprint's 3G EV-DO network as well as its faster WiMAX network. The routers essentially take incoming EV-DO and WiMAX traffic and then sends it out through Wi-Fi.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/080509-sprint-wimax.html

Has anyone tried VoIP over either of these CPE arrangements?