Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
and cell phone into a single phone, so you can use the cellular network when
you need to and also make cheaper calls using VoIP when you’re in range of
a Wi-Fi network. We talk about this fixed mobile convergence in the section
titled “Understanding FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence).”
In this section, we talk about Wi-Fi VoIP phones. These phones, which look
just like a cell or cordless phone, connect to Wi-Fi networks (typically they
use 802.11g technology) and provide you with a full VoIP experience without
the need to use a telephone adapter or a softphone client on a PC. They’re
truly stand-alone phones that can make and receive calls with only a
broadband-connected Wi-Fi access point required.
We also talk about wireless VoIP phones that use the DECT technology standard.
You can use them only in your home, but they tend to be a bit cheaper
and have better battery life than Wi-Fi phones.
Wi-Fi VoIP phones can operate on your own network, on a friend’s network,
over the network at work, or in a public hot spot. The only thing you’ll need
to worry about is gaining access to that network through its security and
authentication system. Luckily, most current Wi-Fi VoIP phones support the
latest WPA2 Personal security system (described in Chapter 9), so you’ll be
able to enter a WPA passphrase on the phone and gain access to the network.
Where things can get a bit dicey is in the realm of corporate and hot spot networks.
There are two issues here:
� In corporate networks, it’s common to find WPA2 Enterprise security,
which uses the 802.1x authentication system (see Chapter 9). Most Wi-Fi
VoIP phones support only the Personal version of WPA2, which uses a
passphrase, and not the Enterprise version, which uses a RADIUS server
to authenticate users (and allow them on the network). If you’re planning
on using your Wi-Fi VoIP phone on one of these networks, you’ll
need to do some research when looking for a phone.
� In public hot spots, it’s common to find a system called a captive portal
that provides the authentication for users to get on the network. A captive
portal uses a Web browser — a page pops up for you to make a
payment or enter a code or simply agree to terms of usage before you
can get on the network. These Wi-Fi VoIP phones typically don’t have a
Web browser built in, so they can’t get onto these types of networks. An
example of a phone that does have a built-in Web browser is SMCWSP-
100 (www.smc.com, $200) from SMC Networks.
Some Wi-Fi VoIP phones let you get around this hot spot conundrum by incorporating
client software or a special internal configuration in their phones
that enables hot spots to recognize the phones and allow them access. For
example, Wi-Fi VoIP phones for Skype (discussed in the “Choosing Skype
phones” section) work at any Boingo hot spot right out of the box. Many