BOSTON-Internet voice provider Net2Phone launched a trial of VeriSign Inc.’s cellular/Wi-Fi connection, the companies said Thursday.
During the trial, Net2Phone will allow subscribers to receive and place calls over a Wi-Fi network or mobile carrier network using a single device and phone number. Like Skype, Vonage and other Voice over Internet Protocol service providers, Net2Phone hopes to complement cellular networks by offering voice services through Wi-Fi where the technology is available, possibly providing cheaper service than traditional carriers.
Some wireless operators, fearful of losing revenues to competing technologies, already have said they will prohibit handsets that support Internet voice providers, and interoperability issues remain between cellular networks and VoIP infrastructures. But many believe newer technologies will address networking issues, and the sheer economical value of VoIP calls will force carriers eventually to embrace the technology.
“People are always looking for more economic, flexible means of communicating,” said Joe Morris, Net2Phone’s vice president of product strategy. “This trial with VeriSign is a great example of how we are working to provide a cost-effective service that will give our partners the ability to deliver new features to their customers, such as enabling convergence of mobile communications services on a single device.”
