Voice over Internet Protocol phone carrier Vonage announced several new devices to support its service, including a portable Wi-Fi phone from wireless handset and infrastructure provider UTStarcom Inc.
Vonage sells software that allows computer users to place telephone calls over the Internet. The company said it will begin selling UTStarcom’s F-1000 Wi-Fi handset starting this spring. The handset-which looks like a mobile phone-will allow users to place Internet calls over any 802.11b wireless network. The companies did not disclose the price of the handset, but UTStarcom said it would sell for around $100.
Howie Frisch, UTStarcom’s product manager, said the device bridges the gap between wide area wireless phones and cordless phones. The company’s F-1000 offers up to 80 hours of standby time and three to four hours of talk time-comparable to most mobile phones and far above the standby and talk times available from most other Wi-Fi phones. Frisch said UTStarcom’s new Wi-Fi phone could significantly impact the market, where Wi-Fi is being deployed in airports, hotels and, in some cases, entire cities.
“Recognizing the need for consumers and small businesses to have a myriad of options when communicating with family, friends and business associates, Vonage is excited to partner with UTStarcom to offer its subscribers a Wi-Fi handset,” said Jeffrey Citron, chairman and chief executive officer of Vonage Holdings Corp. “More important, UTStarcom’s Wi-Fi mobile handset bundled with Vonage’s VoIP service will lead the way in modernizing telecommunications as we know it, as now customers will have the option of mobile VoIP service.”
UTStarcom sells CDMA mobile phones throughout much of the world and recently purchased mobile-phone distribution company Audiovox Communications Corp.
Vonage also announced it would sell a broadband cordless phone system from VTech. The phone uses Texas Instruments’ TNETV1060 VoIP chipset and will be available at more than 8,000 retail locations nationwide in the summer.
In other broadband news, Charter Communications Inc. announced a deal with RemotePipes Inc. to offer customers both dial-up and Wi-Fi Internet access.
