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Canadian Carrier Fido Unveiling Wi-Fi Cellphone Service

Digital Journal has learned Canadian telco Fido will introduce “Home Calling Zone” tomorrow, a hybrid cellphone-wireless Internet system allowing unlimited calls. The company says it’s a Canadian first, so is it enough to cut the landline cord completely?

Digital Journal — Canadian phone company Fido (owned by Rogers Wireless) has become the eight carrier in the world to launch a UMA service that uses high-speed Internet and a wireless router to let people make and receive unlimited phone calls.

UMA technology allows users to have their mobile phones switch from traditional cellphone towers over to a wireless network at home or at the office. The advantage: Making calls over the Internet is dirt cheap. So while at home you can have your phone connect to your household wireless hotspot rather than being billed traditional airtime minutes.

This announcement ushers in a new era for Rogers Wireless and Canadian cellphone owners — Home Calling Zone creates a personal wireless network in your home, and rivals Wi-Fi services such as Skype.

Digital Journal has learned Rogers is rolling out this service using its Fido brand on May 7. It arrives after months of technical and field trials.

How does it work? You’ll need a high-speed Net connection running at minimum 512 kbps. Roger’s own wireless router is recommended, the company says, because it provides “optimal voice quality” on the wireless phone. But since the service works with any generic router, this recommended-router ploy comes across as a cash grab.

Turning to applicable phones, Rogers only offers two handsets for Home Calling Zone customers: the older Nokia 6086 (released in November 2006) and the Blackberry Pearl 8120. More phones will be available in the future as manufacturers upgrade hardware and software to allow the phones to work seamlessly with the new technology.

Setting up the phone for Home Calling is simple enough. Using the Nokia 6086, I found the appropriate Wi-Fi network, saved it in a profile and was instantly connected to it. When I moved out of range, about 30 metres away from the router, the signal reverted back to the regular wireless plan I’m subscribed to. Within range of Wi-Fi, the phone displays a circle and the name of the wireless network.

Home Calling Zone

Canadian company Fido offers a Home Calling Zone that lets you switch between cellphone and wi-fi calling for an extra $15 per month.
Screenshot by DigitalJournal.com

Using one number and phone, you can call anyone for one set fee. Rogers offers two payment levels: for $15 a month (added to your wireless plan), you can make unlimited local calls from your Home Calling Zone. For $20 a month, you can call anyone in Canada from that Zone. But it’s important realize how portable that Zone can be — you can use any open access wireless network with the phone, meaning you can visit a friend’s house and jump on their Wi-Fi network and start calling without soaking up any minutes. In fact, the main appeal of Home Calling Zone is avoiding the minute restrictions placed on many wireless plans.

John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Rogers Wireless, told DigitalJournal.com the service works best for customers who often use their cellphone at home. That targeted demographic is generally young, preferring wireless phones to landlines, and using many minutes during the day. The characterization makes sense: Home Calling Zone wouldn’t be ideal for people who make the majority of their calls on evenings and weekends, when calling is free on most wireless plans.

“Look at someone who works from home,” Boynton said. “He’s probably spending lots of minutes during the day, so eliminating airtime charges is crucial. Maybe he’ll want to scale down his wireless plan, go from $60 to $40 a month, if he’s using Home Calling Zone.”

One of the key advantages of Home Calling Zone is its portability. Boynton related the example of a twentysomething going away to university. He sets up his wireless router at university, buys a Home Calling Zone plan and handset, and uses the service for eight months during the school year. When he returns to Mom n’ Dad in the summer, he takes the router back to his hometown. His Home Calling Zone will work seamlessly wherever he goes, Boynton assured.

Up to five phones can be used in the Home Calling Zone at the same time. Also, data charges and applications such as text-messaging and downloads will be charged normally via the customer’s wireless plan.

Wireless charges are based on where the call was first started. So if you connected to a friend in your Home Calling Zone first, just on your way out the door, and you continued the call as you walked down your street, the call will count towards the Home Calling Zone charge. Starting a call outside the Zone will result in regular GSM network charges, even if you go back inside your house to finish the call.

Boynton mentioned another benefit: “Think of people living in basements. Maybe the coverage there isn’t the greatest. But with Home Calling Zone, being so close to your router means receiving clearer phone calls.”

A Wi-Fi phone service is nothing new. Skype has offered its customers the same service, as well as extremely affordable rates for long-distance calls: as little as $3 per month to call unlimited anywhere in North America. And Vonage uses Voice-over Internet Protocol to give its customer inexpensive long-distance rates with their home phone.

But where Home Calling Zones wins points is in its one-ringtone-to-rule-them-all idea. It’s useful to have one phone number to receive and make calls in an open unlimited way. Skype and Vonage aren’t as portable as some customers would like because they need a wireless network to operate, whereas a Fido UMA phone can use traditional cell towers when a Wi-Fi network is out of range.

Also, many cellphone users are disinterested in owning landlines for the simple reason that their wireless fandom is increasing every year. Cutting the cord has never been easier, and who doesn’t want to avoid telemarketing calls during dinner? This means Home Calling Zone has the potential to radically overhaul how people view their cellphone habits. The death of the landline is more imminent than in any period in history.

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