Dual-Mode Wireless Telephony: Promises and Challenges
Type: Advisory Report
Analyst: B. Riggs
Report Date: Jul 9, 2004
Module: Enterprise Communications
ID: CIR12128 |
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Summary
Issue
Dual-mode wireless telephony solutions are capable of utilizing both WLANs and cellular networks to carry voice traffic and seamlessly handoff calls as users as they pass from one type of network to another. Though they have been on the drawing boards for many months (almost years), such solutions have yet to reach the market. Who is developing dual-mode wireless IP handsets, as well as the infrastructure equipment and cellular services capable of supporting them? When will the solutions become available? Who will the likeliest buyers be? What impediments do they face in attracting a large customer base? And beyond system sales, what new revenue opportunities will these solutions open up?
Current Analysis Perspective
A variety of industry players in the IP telephony market are preparing to bolster their wireless and mobility offerings with solutions that not only carry voice over wireless LANs but at the same time support cellular networks and can hand off active calls between the two environments. The solutions are based in part on handsets with two different chipsets - one that supports the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard and other that can transmit to GSM networks supported by a number of cellular operators. Wireless LAN infrastructure will ensure that telephony traffic utilizing it will receive the QoS attention needed to provide toll-like voice quality, that calls are not interrupted when callers roam between WLAN subnets, and that voice over WiFi is as secure as other converged communications applications. Wireless gateways ensure that active calls are not interrupted when users move out of the range of WLAN access points and are picked up by the cellular service. Access to GSM networks will provide end-users the mobility afforded them by standard cell phones, but on the same handsets they use in office environments.
It was Avaya that initially piqued the industry's interest in such dual-mode wireless voice solutions when it joined forces with Proxim and Motorola in January 2003. Trials of the jointly developed solutions were supposed to start later that year, presumably to be followed by a concrete set of deliverables from the wireless troika. While dual-mode wireless IP voice solutions never actually reached the market, there is growing evidence that this will change by the end of the year. This evidence does not just come from Avaya, however. Nortel is also developing wireless voice solutions that span WiFi and cellular networks, as is NEC Unified Solutions. In both cases, the companies are leaning on Motorola as their handset supplier with Q4 2004 targeted as the anticipated delivery date for their solutions. Though no official announcement has been made as to which carrier will be offering service plans that support the dual-mode WiFi-cellular solutions, IT managers familiar with initial trials say it will be AT&T.
There are a number of very clear benefits to dual-mode wireless voice solutions for the enterprise. When in the office and connected to the wireless LAN, end users will have access to all standard PBX features and communications applications. Problems with in-building cell coverage would go away since users would not be accessing the cell networks for their calls. And when users leave campus they would be seamlessly transferred to the cellular network, even if a call is in progress.
However, there will also be many challenges in establishing dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions among enterprise buyers. One will be in the delivery of cellular plans that adequately compensate operators (otherwise they would not offer them in the first place) and at the same time provide clear financial and/or productivity benefits to enterprise buyers. Since plan details are yet to be made public, it is as yet unclear how attractive they will be to enterprises or to the operators that would support them. What is more clear is that initially there will be a very limited number of service offerings, perhaps only one from AT&T. (Initially T-Mobile was identified as another operator rumored to be planning a service for dual-mode handsets, but the company says it has no voice over WiFi service in the offing.) This will limit the market for dual-mode WiFi-cellular solutions to businesses that subscribe or are prepared to switch their corporate accounts to the provider or providers that have developed plans for the new dual-mode solutions. Since dual-mode handsets will only directly benefit a minority of end-users (corporations tend to only supply cell phones to 20% to 25% of their employees), switching providers just to benefit a few users may not be practical for many potential enterprise customers. A short list of handset designs may also diminish consumer choice, as well as set limits on vendors' ability to differentiate solutions based on the same handset design.
More importantly, vendors and resellers of dual-mode wireless voice solutions will be challenged by the present state of wireless LAN networks in the enterprise. While wireless LANs are increasingly common - particularly within the healthcare, manufacturing, and education verticals - they often do not have the QoS, security, and fast handoff features that are needed to support IP telephony traffic. These elements will be necessary, not just in one or a few network segments, but end-to-end across entire WLAN. In some cases, standards for these functions have yet to be written, which will require IT departments to implement proprietary or pre-standard technology with the probability of subsequent upgrades. IT departments will also be challenged to develop the technical expertise that will be needed to deploy and support real-time applications across wireless LAN infrastructures. And because the dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions in development utilize the IEEE 802.11a spec, rather than more widely deployed 802.11b, for voice calls within the WLAN environment, enterprises interested in the solutions will most likely have to invest in overlay networks to their existing WiFi environments.
But for all the challenges that dual-mode wireless voice solutions will present to the vendors marketing them, new opportunities will also arise. Many enterprises will need site surveys and assessments of their wireless networks to gauge their ability to support real-time communications applications and provide ubiquitous WiFi voice access throughout the campus. Suppliers that have professional services groups that provide general network assessment services need to make sure they can leverage them as customers seek help determining the capabilities and limitations of their existing WLANs. Suppliers without professional services groups need to make sure they can refer potential customers to third-party firms that can help with site surveys, network assessment, and planning services. Since upgrades and replacements to existing WLANs will be needed to support voice applications, suppliers of dual-mode wireless voice solutions should be prepared to advise potential customers how the solutions can fit into an overarching wireless infrastructure upgrade process - one that will better introduce new security capabilities and support other WiFi voice devices (such as Spectralink 802.11 handsets). Suppliers will also want to have detailed TCO information available for potential customers since dual-mode wireless voice solutions will require multiple components and services. And vendors should be prepared to highlight the competitive differentiators of their particular solution, since it looks like solutions will be available from multiple suppliers at about the same time.
Recommended Actions
Recommended Vendor Actions
. Vendors selling voice over wireless LAN solutions should bundle the offerings with a comprehensive set of services that will help IT departments determine the readiness of their wireless infrastructures to support real-time communications apps, implement and monitor QoS, enforce security, and perform fast handoffs between subnets.
. Vendors and their channel partners should also be prepared to offer training programs for customers and resellers needing to develop the technical expertise to implement and manage voice over WiFi solutions.
. Since it is now apparent that Avaya will not be the only game in town when it comes to dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions, the company needs to finally bring its solution to market and detail how it will be differentiated from competitive offerings that did not exist when the company made its announcement a year and a half ago.
. Nortel, NEC, and other vendors working with Motorola in the development of dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions need to start releasing details of their offering in order to pique the interest of customers and resellers. These vendors should also encourage Motorola to produce additional handset designs to provide more selection for prospective enterprise buyers.
. Nortel and other vendors that provide the infrastructure technology used to build out cellular networks utilized by operators should encourage their cellular operator customers to become partners that would participate in dual-mode service offerings. Allowing non-AT&T end-users to remain with their incumbent cellular service providers should appeal to many enterprises and help to dispel some of the fear, uncertainty, and doubt involved in large IT investments.
. Vendors preparing to offer dual-mode WiFi-cellular solutions need to work more closely with mobile operators. Operators' support for such solutions and the applications they support will be crucial to their success, but to date it remains unclear how widespread support for them are among cellular carriers. Vendors need to come up with business plans that work for the operators and the customers, because the mobile operators certainly won't do it for them.
Recommended User Actions
. Since WLAN infrastructure will have to be either upgraded or replaced to support voice applications, enterprises interested in implementing dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions should only do so as part of a larger voice over WiFi project. Enterprises interested in dual-mode communications systems need to educate themselves on the technology and take the necessary steps to ensure proper deployment and network efficiency when the solutions become available. These steps primarily revolve around aligning themselves with a qualified solutions provider to perform required site surveys, network readiness assessments, implementation, and post deployment support.
. Enterprises interested in supporting real-time communications apps on the wireless LANs need to consult with their infrastructure vendors on how to implement QoS, security, fast handoffs, and other features that will be necessary. They also need to put pressure on their infrastructure vendors to ensure that recently purchased equipment will be capable of supporting upgrades for QoS, security, and fast handoffs without yet another forklift WLAN upgrade.
. Enterprise interested in implementing dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions need to make a detailed cost analysis of them. Pricing for most elements of the solution - including WLAN infrastructure upgrades, handsets and cellular service plans - have not yet been announced, making it unclear how cost-effective they will be.
. Enterprise interested in implementing dual-mode WiFi-cellular voice solutions need to make a detailed cost comparison of the different solutions to be available from Avaya, Nortel, and NEC.
. Enterprises deploying voice over WiFi systems need to make sure WLAN coverage is available throughout the campus. If users of WiFi handsets encounter black holes in campus WLAN coverage, they will get frustrated with the new solutions.
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