Originally published July 31 2005
Internet phone service going wireless
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Internet phones services like Skype and Boingo have announced services that allow users to make calls on a wireless network. Experts say that Samsung and LG are working on hybrid cellular and wireless-internet phones.
Internet telephone service tiptoed a few more steps into the wireless realm Tuesday as Skype and Boingo unveiled a service to enable voice-over-Internet calls over Wi-Fi hot spots, while Samsung and LG announced plans to develop mobile phones that combine cellular and Wi-Fi technologies.
Skype Zones, costing $8 a month, allows laptop users to make phone calls using Skype Technologies SA's popular Internet phone services whenever they're near one of Boingo Wireless Inc.'s 18,000 transmitters in public locations such as coffee shops, airports and hotels.
Calls using Skype's basic computer-to-computer service, which bypasses the public telephone network, will remain free.
Skype Technologies SA will charge extra for calls dialed to or received from a regular phone number.
The fee for Skype Zones does not include access to the Internet and e-mail, which still costs $22 a month for unlimited usage from Boingo.
But compared with the Internet package, where there are extra roaming charges in certain countries, Skype service includes free access to Boingo hot spots in about 40 nations.
Also Tuesday, Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. of Korea announced deals to use a new hybrid wireless technology from Kineto Wireless Inc. to develop mobile phones that can pass a call from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network without interrupting the connection.
The new technology, known as UMA for unlicensed mobile access, is designed to provide better call quality indoors, where cellular signals turn weak and short-range Wi-Fi signals are strong.
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