Wi-Fi cellphones: Coming soon to a hotspot near you

We’re seeing it more and more – at coffee shops, at airports, at bars and restos, even at spas, country clubs, barbershops and gyms. It’s that yellow-and-black sticker on the door that says "Wi-Fi," indicating that the place you’re about to enter is a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is the technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. This 802.11 specification is a standard that defines a wireless interface between a Wi-Fi-enabled device like a notebook PC and a base station or between two Wi-Fi-enabled devices through so-called "access points." These access points are connected to enterprise networks and the Internet through a cable or DSL line.

Various radio frequencies are available and identified as "a," "b," "g" and "n." Most Wi-Fi hotspots use 802.11b. Most offices, on the other hand, use 802.11g. All 802.11g devices are backward compatible with the 802.11b standard.

Now while most new notebook PCs are Wi-Fi-enabled out of the box, we have yet to see true 802.11-compatible mobile phones in the market. But why would anyone need (or want) to surf the Internet on a tiny handheld device when a laptop has done so effortlessly and conveniently for some time?

For one thing, Wi-Fi use on mobile phones is seen as having potential to spread mobile Web use by giving phone users more options and price points for that level of wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi could offer a more cost-effective way for users to access the Web from mobile devices by minimizing the airtime used to go online.

Reducing that cost could, in turn, prompt users to be more willing to spend on added services such as streaming music or news video clips or on true mobile commerce (m-commerce) purchases enabled by the handsets.

Prohibitive airtime cost has always been a disincentive to mobile Web use. Many phones now in use have the capability to access the Internet, but relatively few users attempt to do so.

But cost is not the only hurdle, with many devices still too cumbersome and their keyboards too small to be used to comfortably navigate the Web for long periods of time. Some phone manufacturers are already developing voice-activation technology or even motion-sensitive phones to overcome those limitations.

Nevertheless, networks are being built and devices will get better in time, mainly because the more choices people have to get online from their cellphones, the higher the chances they are to take advantage of that feature.

Other mobile phone companies have pushed Wi-Fi connectivity as a way to enable free or virtually free mobile calling by using Wi-Fi to access Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, which would send calls over broadband networks at a sharp discount to what airtime costs.

In fact, one consequence of the Wi-Fi technology could be to prompt mobile carriers to adjust their airtime charges for Web use to keep customers using that direct option.

So when will the handsets be available and who will provide them? At the moment, a handful of Nokias (i.e. N95), Samsungs and HP iPAQs are Wi-Fi-capable (most of which are not available here yet), with other major mobile phone manufacturers poised to release their own Wi-Fi handsets. Expect 2007 to be a breakthrough year for Wi-Fi connectivity on mobile phones, though.