It is here, and not a moment too soon: A 4-ounce, 802.11a-capable WiFi phone. (Since we mentioned WPS in the story above, we should note that this phone comes with WPA and WPA2.) It is offered by SpectraLink, and owners may avail themselves of a battery pack for four, six or eight hours of battery life.
Joanie Wexler says that what she likes about the phone is that it is 802.11a-capable. 802.11a is especially suitable for enterprises eager move to VoWiFi because the 5 GHz range where 802.11a operates offers up to 23 channels. By comparison, the more popular 2.4 GHz range offers WiFi users only three non-overlapping channels. Voice traffic is more susceptible to interference and latency than data, and 802.11a would make it possible to dedicate a number of channels to voice traffic so as to avoid crosstalk and interference.
SpectraLink's NetLink 8020 is not cheap, listing at $595. The 8030, which offers push-to-talk, lists for $675.
For more on SpectraLink's 802.11a phone:
- see Joanie Wexler's Networkworld report
Also: BT is now offering WiFi phones for its BT Fusion converged mobile/fixed line service. The WiFi-ready Nokia 6136, Motorola A910 and Samsung P200 handsets will be available as of today from the Phones4U network of more than 400 high street shops. Report