Wi-Fi And Cellular UniteWi-Fi And Cellular Unite

With mobility an ever-increasing concern among IT execs, Motorola Inc. believes it's time for dual-mode cellular networks that combine wireless LAN, IP telephony, and cellular-phone technologies.

Motorola last week said it's working with Cisco Systems to provide an enterprise mobility platform that will use clamshell cellular handsets and Cisco IP PBX technology to let people use Wi-Fi and IP networks inside company facilities and cellular networks elsewhere. Motorola expects the platform to be available in the first quarter. This is Motorola's second dual-mode platform effort; last year, it teamed with Avaya Inc. in a similar deal that has entered into trial deployment.

The cell phone will have functionality commonly associated with desk phones, such as transferring and conferencing calls. This will allow "users to take desklike functionality into an untethered environment," says Jeff Miller, VP of enterprise business at Motorola.

"We're allowing enterprises to leverage the access-point infrastructure that most already have in place, saving the enterprise customer minutes of use on their cellular network," he says.

Miller says he believes that cellular carriers will be quick to add dual-mode services to their offerings because they will help address customer complaints about poor cellular service inside corporate campuses. Pricing for the handsets and platforms will depend on programs that cellular carriers and integration partners such as EDS offer, Miller says.

A partnership between Motorola, a leader in cellular and wireless technologies, and Cisco, a leader in IP technology, should be appealing to businesses, says Will Strauss, an analyst with research firm Forward Concepts. "In the early stages, it will likely only be used by business users because it will likely be more expensive than a standard cell phone," Strauss says. "But there should be a significant demand within the enterprise, and, of course, there are always the gadget freaks that want the latest technologies."

It's difficult to gauge initial demand for the systems. More than 700 million cell phones were shipped last year, Strauss says, with nearly 750 million expected to ship this year and more than 1 billion in 2009. If the dual-mode systems can garner even a small percentage of the market, the numbers could be significant, he says.

The dual-mode systems could lead to new pricing models with per-minute pricing provided at a discount when phones use corporate Wi-Fi networks because it would save the carrier valuable cellular spectrum space, Strauss says.

The dual-mode cellular system initially will be a large-enterprise play, Motorola's Miller says, but small and home offices and consumers eventually will be interested.