Wi-Fi and cell phones

Some believe that the Wi-Fi and similar technology may eventually replace cellular networks such as GSM. Obstacles to this happening in the near future are not roaming and authentication (see 802.1x, SIM-cards and RADIUS), a limited frequency range and very limited range of Wi-Fi.

More likely that Wi-Fi with other cellular phone networks such as GSM, UMTS or CDMA. However, Wi-Fi is ideal for VoIP in enterprise networks or in a SOHO. Early adopters were already available in the early 90's, but did not did the market until 2005. Then the companies Zyxel, UT Starcomm, Samsung, Hitachi and many others presented to the market VoIP Wi-Fi phones at "reasonable" prices.


In 2005 ADSL ISP providers have started to offer VoIP services to their customers (eg German ISP XS4All). When calls via VoIP is very cheap, and often even free, providers are able to provide services to VoIP, an opportunity to open a new market - the service VoIP. GSM phones with integrated features Wi-Fi and VoIP began to appear on the market, and they have the potential to replace wired phones.

At the moment, a direct comparison of Wi-Fi and cellular networks is impractical. Phones that use Wi-Fi only have a very limited range, so the deployment of such networks is very expensive. However, the deployment of such networks can be the best solution for local use, such as a corporate network. However, devices that support multiple standards can take a significant share of the market.