VoIP accessibility boosted by Wi-Fi

A new generation of Wi-Fi VoIP handsets which allow users to employ 'hands-free' VoIP technologies via hotspots instead of connecting headphones to their laptop could help people communicate from the office, home or city centre.

The use of these portable technologies to make phone and video calls from assorted IP telephony hotspots is already rolling out across Australia, according to industry analyst David Frith, writing in Australian IT magazine.

Australian firm NetComm has just released a new wireless VoIP handset, the V24W, which operates using Australian commercial Wi-Fi providers as well as Skype.

On the other hand, the use of Wi-Fi hotspots for VoIP is constrained by the narrow reach of the hotspots' coverage, totalling around 20-40 metres on average, meaning that users would be compelled to stay static for most of the time rather than roaming freely.

Moreover, sceptics warn that users could find the principal advantage of VoIP, namely the free use of telephony technologies, is cancelled out by the need to pay providers for wireless access, while the relative novelty of the technologies means they may continue to carry a 'newcomer' price-tag until their use becomes more generalised.