The world is making the move to wireless applications of all sorts. Users of computers and telephones are losing the plugs. The great inventors of the last century, Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla knew that in the future the world would be a wireless one. The vision of these great inventors is now coming about as people are able to jump from one hotspot to another and are no longer bound by telephone cords and power outlets.

As men and women become more mobile, the demand for wireless technology continues to increase. Computers are portable, telephones are cellular, and now VoIP is enabling a entirely new family of wireless conveniences.

VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol, transmits Packets (data filled information) over the Internet. VoIP can be used anywhere a broadband modem is connected to the internet, or with the integration of a suitable wireless network card, it may be connected over a wireless local area network.

Wireless technology or WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) is accomplished by the use of networks and access points. A wireless enabled device can access the Internet any time it has access to network signal. It is similar to radio signal and there is a range of operation known as a hotspot. A hotspot is an area where there is an access point (connection to the internet) facilitated by a wireless transmitter/receiver. It is possible for wireless users to basically hop from hotspot to hotspot and utilize a number of networks access points as they travel. This is known as lily padding and operates much the same as going from one cell phone tower to another.

There are, however, still important security issues that need to be worked out concerning the avoidance of viruses, Trojans, and worms from contaminating the wireless web and halting communications. When people can jump from hotspot to hotspot this leads to a essential need for stricter security rules and regulations. Protection is and will remain the number one concern for those involved in building the wireless world. But people want wireless technology. They need to conduct meetings while travelling and the ability to stay in touch with clients, customers, employees, and employers. The engineering community is addressing these needs as quickly as they can. The technology is developing rapidly and definitely faster than it can be regulated.

Wireless technology and VoIP technology have been merged to create another innovation-VoWiFi. VoWiFi is an acronym for Voice over Wireless Fidelity. VoWiFi phones are beginning to hit the market. They work like cell phones, except they use VoIP technology, (transmitting over the Internet) and are wireless, operating in a number of hotspots. Many of the major service providers are embracing VoWiFi technology. Currently Cingular has a VoWiFi plan available. Although this technology is still relatively new, we can anticipate to see a large increase in both products and service providers in the coming years.

A new technology, the Hybrid, is currently on the market, yet still in it's early developmental stage. The Hybrid utilizes both cellular and VoWiFi. The advantage of a Hybrid phone is that it uses your network calling range as a cell phone. When you leave your range, you can avoid roaming charges by accessing a VoWiFi hotspot instead, thus avoiding those costly roaming charges. There are no roaming fees involved with VoWiFi. This is just one example of how the advances in wireless technology are creating new products. Verizon is said to be developing a VoWiFi phone, and many larger telephone companies are looking at WiFi as the direction of the future. Service providers who have dealt with one infrastructure for decades are now beginning to understand that technology is changing not only the future, but also the need for the products they have specialized in.

In the near future, we can expect to see many more access points opening up nationwide. With the integration of VoIP and wireless technology the future is a technological breakthrough that will allow us all to be more mobile while still keeping in touch with the important things that fill our lives.

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Jay Mark is the webmaster of http://voip-topics.com. VoIP-Topics is a resource for those interested in VoIP Service Providers and Equipment, and News in the VoIP Industry.

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