VoIP at home to be boosted by new wireless tech?

Many mobile phone users run across 'dead zones' where they cannot get a reliable signal to their network, with some homes completely lacking connectivity.

But a new VoIP device can plug into a home broadband connection and act as another source of network signal by sending the calls over the internet.

The technology from UK manufacturer ip.access has been packaged into book-sized boxes called femtocells and is aimed at ending mobile phone signal problems forever.

"People I talk to say 'I want one now'," said Stephen Mallinson, chief executive of ip.access.

The technology has been used in business circles before, but this is the first time it has been made available in a product targeted at the general public, although Mr Mallinson said: "We always had the vision that the technology would be cheap enough to be in the home."

This VoIP over Wi-Fi product is set to take the world by storm, according to research firm ABI which predicted by 2012 there would be 70 million femtocells installed around the planet.

However, the voice communication system will still be run by the mobile networks and it is unclear whether they will offer similar cheap call prices as current VoIP networks.

In addition, there may be a backlash over the safety of the device as Mike Roberts, principal analyst at research firm Informa Media and Telecoms, told the BBC: "It's a base station in your home effectively."

Well-publicised campaigns have recently been launched against large-scale base stations which broadcast the mobile phone network being built in residential areas and near schools over fears they could be a health risk.

Posted on: 2007-07-26, in: Broadband

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