SPOTLIGHT: Not ready for prime time


Every couple of years or so a story appears about a scientist who has just succeeded in creating cold fusion. The news is received with a sense of hope and enthusiasm--perhaps, at last, the process of creating cheap, abundant and clean energy has been mastered. Alas, within a couple of days we also find that this has been yet another hoax, and we all go back to consuming oil and coal. There is another kind of fusion--between VoWiFi and cellular technologies--which also holds much promise (OK, not on a level with cold fusion, but still), but which has also been saddled with false starts and over-blown promises. Malcolm Myers of TDC Switzerland says: "The equipment manufacturers and software companies are excited about convergence... But the end customers aren't." Discussion | report