Cell Phones Say Hi to Wi-Fi
How’d you like just one phone number – and phone – for home, office, and mobile? Chicago-based BridgePort Networks officiated at the long-heralded marriage of cellular networks and Wi-Fi – which could mean cell phones that never drop calls inside buildings, where Wi-Fi is the cheaper and more reliable system.
At conferences in Barcelona and Las Vegas, BridgePort showcased new phones from Chinese manufacturer E28 that carry both a standard cellular radio and a Wi-Fi radio. When attendees wandered out of the Wi-Fi transmitter’s range, the call switched to the cellular network. “They would never know when the handover was; there was no break in the pitch or the voice,” boasts Todd Carothers, a BridgePort vice president.
Carothers called the conference events the first live demonstrations of call handovers using an emerging standard called voice call conti-nuity, which bridges packet switching and cell switching. Companies such as Kineto Wireless in Milpitas, CA, are working on similar technologies, and business users can expect to see products by the end of this year.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it
The narrative around cheating students doesn’t tell the whole story. Meet the teachers who think generative AI could actually make learning better.
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.