LONDON-The voice over wireless local area network market is poised for huge growth, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. A study by the company found that the introduction of dual-mode handsets and the ratification of 802.11 standards indicate a positive market outlook for 2005.
European market revenues from the technology are expected to grow exponentially, from $8.06 million in 2004 to $2.4 billion in 2010, Frost & Sullivan said. The company added that companies are starting to see VoWLAN as a cost-effective solution that offers the twin benefits of mobile voice and data to their customers.
The Unlicensed Mobile Access group’s initiative to allow 802.11-equipped handsets to make calls through their Wi-Fi hot spots is a major driver for the VoWLAN market. However, the study found that UMA technology has challenges. For instance, it neither fully supports Session Initiation Protocol nor is aligned tangibly with Internet Protocol for Multimedia Subsystems. Frost & Sullivan said UMA cannot hand over between multiple access points, and most importantly, it does not guarantee significant cost savings.
On the other hand, Frost & Sullivan found that the MobileIGNITE Alliance’s focus is on SIP, which allows for a smooth migration to the IMS platform, making it a more feasible, long-term solution compared with UMA.
The study predicted that in 2005, VoWLAN will gain traction after the ratification of a standard that addresses the technical limitations of running voice over WLAN. Currently, industry participants are evaluating IEEE’s emerging 802.11e standard that attempts to support quality of service, unlike the existing WLAN standards.
The study also identified another key VoWLAN challenge-the need to achieve a hand-off time of 30 to 50 milliseconds between access points to provide seamless roaming coverage. Frost & Sullivan said the IEEE is working to address this issue through the 802.11r standard, which aims to implement faster algorithms and pre-authentication techniques.
