Update on BT’s free mobile phone calls over Wi-Fi service
I've had an interesting discussion with Alex Yap of Symplification, who pointed out to me that the source (Tony Glover of The Business Online) of a recent article I posted entitled "BT offers free mobile phone calls over WiFi" may not be all that reliable. Apparently, Mr. Glover has written previous tech articles for The Business, the reliability of which has been in doubt (see Alex's comprehensive post on the matter).
Intrigued, I dug a little more to determine the reliability of Mr. Glover's original post for myself. I found that Mr. Glover's original claim couldn't be independently verified, so its reliability must be treated with caution. More interestingly, though, I also found some fascinating new information on the future of fixed and mobile phone networks.
To find out more about the future of fixed and mobile networks, and the reliability of Mr. Glover's original post, read on after the jump!
The original offending article
Mr. Glover's article has been cited many times, and by such prominent blogs as textually.org, and well-respected journalists such as Jack Schofield, The Guardian newspaper's computer editor, in The Guardian's online edition. OK, so other people citing the same post doesn't make it reliable, but it at least means I'm in good company, if the reliability of the article is in question! So I dug a little deeper, trying to see whether BT is genuinely about to offer free mobile phone calls over WiFi for owners of WiFi-enabled smartphones.
BT Fusion - BT's existing converged fixed-and-mobile service
BT have recently launched a converged fixed-and-mobile service called BT Fusion, which uses a specially-designed Motorola handset that can make phone calls over a mobile phone network outside of the home, and over a fixed line connection in the home via a WLAN-enabled 'HomeHub'. However, this is clearly not the service Mr. Glover talks about, as it's certainly not free (this is BT, remember, so no surprise there!), and is already available. However, it does show that BT are serious about fixed and mobile convergence.
BT's future plans for converged fixed-and-mobile services
Trying to find more information on BT's future plans for converged fixed-and-mobile services, I came across an extremely interesting article in Time Magazine, in which Ryan Jarvis, BT's head of convergence products, states that "Making calls from a mobile handset is no longer the preserve of just the mobile operator." The article also states that:
"...things should get more interesting in 2006, when BT and other providers add hybrid wi-if/cellular phones. At least four of the largest mobile-handset vendors — Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and LG — are known to be preparing such devices, which will bring wi-if phoning more into the mainstream."
The article continues with quotes from Nokia senior vice president Ilkka Raiskinen, who states that wi-if will become a standard feature in Nokia's multimedia and business phones next year, and that by 2006 Nokia will put it into many midrange models; and from Motorola's chief strategy officer Richard Nottenberg, who pledges that Motorola will next year introduce a "significant" number of wi-fi phones, including possibly one with Skype built-in.
And those free BT calls?
In fact, the more I read the article in Time, the more I'm convinced it's the true source of at least some of Mr. Glover's claims. Towards the end, the Time article states:
"Many mobile operators, for example, now provide virtually free intra-office calls. This fall, several will offer free calls that stay on the operator's own network within a country."
Conclusion
In conclusion, I couldn't confirm Mr. Glover's claims that BT will be offering free mobile phone calls over WLAN. Furthermore, I noticed after much digging around that every single post on this subject all refers back to Mr. Glover's original post. In other words, there's no independent validation of the claim. With accuracy in doubt, and no evidence to support the initial claim, I too am skeptical. I've left my original article quoting Mr .Glover in place, but with a link to this post, urging caution.
As for BT's plans, it seems that BT certainly will be providing a converged service at some point in the future, but so, for that matter, will all the other telcos and mobile network operators. For example, Dave Williams, chief technology officer at O2, concedes in the Time article that "In the long term, as part of an evolution, we'll go to VoIP-enabled over the phone". It's inevitable that mobile and VoIP technology will converge at some point in the future, with either current WiFi, or more likely the new WiMAX technology, providing the converging catalyst. As for free mobile calls from BT, though - well, have you ever known BT give anything away for free?!
