BARCELONA, SPAIN – February 12, 2007 – From trend-setting twenty-somethings to jet-setting road warriors, there is a Wi-Fi® phone for everyone. The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced that it has Wi-Fi CERTIFIED nearly 100 Wi-Fi phones since the beginning of testing in 2004, and that it expects strong continued growth in 2007. Carrier deployments of combined Wi-Fi and cellular solutions are now underway in seven countries worldwide.
With this proliferation of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices, carriers can now choose from numerous appealing handsets with diverse feature sets. In addition, with more and more single-mode Voice over Wi-Fi phones entering the home and enterprise markets, consumers and businesses have more options for flexible, affordable phone solutions. To date, 82 dual-mode and 10 single-mode phones have achieved certification.
Wi-Fi connectivity in a phone enables the user to connect via a Wi-Fi network for voice, multimedia, and data applications over a faster connection with strong local coverage, often at a lower price. Carriers, in turn, can leverage dual-mode devices to allocate spectrum efficiently and provide a differentiated offering to subscribers. ABI Research forecasts that in 2011, more than 325 million converged Wi-Fi / cellular phones and 15 million single-mode Wi-Fi phones will be shipped.
“The growth in certification reflects the momentum in the market for devices with combined cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, and manufacturers and carriers’ enthusiasm for the unique voice and data capabilities Wi-Fi adds to a handset,” said Wi-Fi Alliance managing director Frank Hanzlik. “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED handsets give carriers confidence about adding converged devices to their networks.”
Wi-Fi Alliance certification for phones covers core Wi-Fi interoperability and standards-based security protocols, and includes optional programs for multimedia support and power conservation. Additional programs to test voice performance over Wi-Fi are planned for later in 2007, as are enhancements to the core handset testing program. In addition, Wi-Fi Alliance and CTIA® provide a series of tests to measure RF performance in converged handsets.
“Smartphones have led the way for embedded Wi-Fi in cellular handsets to provide faster data access,” says Philip Solis, principal analyst at ABI Research. “With fixed-mobile convergence solutions on the rise, even more smartphones and feature phones are including Wi-Fi to provide a choice of connection options based on throughput, coverage, or cost needs.”
“Wireless subscribers have very high expectations of their phones,” said Frank Hanzlik. “Much as Wi-Fi certification improved the user experience with basic 802.11 networking products and enabled very widespread adoption of the technology, our handset testing programs will be a key enabler of adoption in the convergence space.”
Handsets have been certified by a wide range of Wi-Fi Alliance member companies worldwide:
A list of all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED handsets and other products, as well a free white paper discussing Wi-Fi / Mobile convergence, is available at www.wi-fi.org.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program in March 2000, more than 3,300 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets.
Media contact:
Edelman for Wi-Fi Alliance: Michael Diamond, michael.diamond@edelman.com, +1-650-429-2772.
With this proliferation of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices, carriers can now choose from numerous appealing handsets with diverse feature sets. In addition, with more and more single-mode Voice over Wi-Fi phones entering the home and enterprise markets, consumers and businesses have more options for flexible, affordable phone solutions. To date, 82 dual-mode and 10 single-mode phones have achieved certification.
Wi-Fi connectivity in a phone enables the user to connect via a Wi-Fi network for voice, multimedia, and data applications over a faster connection with strong local coverage, often at a lower price. Carriers, in turn, can leverage dual-mode devices to allocate spectrum efficiently and provide a differentiated offering to subscribers. ABI Research forecasts that in 2011, more than 325 million converged Wi-Fi / cellular phones and 15 million single-mode Wi-Fi phones will be shipped.
“The growth in certification reflects the momentum in the market for devices with combined cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, and manufacturers and carriers’ enthusiasm for the unique voice and data capabilities Wi-Fi adds to a handset,” said Wi-Fi Alliance managing director Frank Hanzlik. “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED handsets give carriers confidence about adding converged devices to their networks.”
Wi-Fi Alliance certification for phones covers core Wi-Fi interoperability and standards-based security protocols, and includes optional programs for multimedia support and power conservation. Additional programs to test voice performance over Wi-Fi are planned for later in 2007, as are enhancements to the core handset testing program. In addition, Wi-Fi Alliance and CTIA® provide a series of tests to measure RF performance in converged handsets.
“Smartphones have led the way for embedded Wi-Fi in cellular handsets to provide faster data access,” says Philip Solis, principal analyst at ABI Research. “With fixed-mobile convergence solutions on the rise, even more smartphones and feature phones are including Wi-Fi to provide a choice of connection options based on throughput, coverage, or cost needs.”
“Wireless subscribers have very high expectations of their phones,” said Frank Hanzlik. “Much as Wi-Fi certification improved the user experience with basic 802.11 networking products and enabled very widespread adoption of the technology, our handset testing programs will be a key enabler of adoption in the convergence space.”
Handsets have been certified by a wide range of Wi-Fi Alliance member companies worldwide:
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A list of all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED handsets and other products, as well a free white paper discussing Wi-Fi / Mobile convergence, is available at www.wi-fi.org.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program in March 2000, more than 3,300 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets.
Media contact:
Edelman for Wi-Fi Alliance: Michael Diamond, michael.diamond@edelman.com, +1-650-429-2772.