Vo802.11 Phones

Vo802.11 Phones
A more hybrid approach is Vo802.11 technology, such as the wireless PBX interfaces from SpectraLink
and Symbol. In this scenario, 802.11 handsets interface with an 802.11 gateway located in front of the
legacy PBX. The wireless handsets free employees to roam around the premises (such as medical
professionals in a hospital, warehouse workers, or knowledge workers on a corporate campus). Figure 6-
9 details that architecture.
Figure 6-9: SpectraLink 802.11 phones and a PBX interface Source- SpectraLink
According to a recent Cahners-InStat report, additional demand from verticals such as education,
healthcare, retail, and logistics will help the overall voice over WLAN market expand to over 80,000
handset shipments in 2002, a significant jump from the 20,000 shipments in 2001. Furthermore, InStat/
MDR reports that annual shipments of Vo802.11x handsets are expected to pass half a million units by
2006.[16]
At the time of this writing, the retail price of some Vo802.11 handsets is about $700 each. This limits their
market to certain verticals such as healthcare, education, and warehousing where a demonstrable
tradeoff exists between the expense of handset versus the employee being mobile in the workplace. The
limited market for Vo802.11 handsets keeps prices high. If the technology were to reach a mass market,
driving the production of those handsets, then the cost per handset would drop.
One potential solution to the high cost of Vo802.11 handsets is to use VoIP software on wireless modemequipped
PDAs. Although these high-end PDAs cost upwards of $600, they offer great utility in being
PDAs, telephones, Short Message Service (SMS) devices, and MP3 players.