[Noeld1024]

I recently stopped by my local Verizon Wireless store and while buying a few things and talking to the salesperson, he mentioned that within the next few years, all cell phones will no longer be using cell towers, but instead using wi-fi for making calls and for service...he claimed that at present, cell towers have to be placed approx. 5-6 miles apart to maintain good service (not sure if any of this is accurate...just a rumor I thought I'd pass it along) but if/when the phone companies switch to wi-fi, then the towers would only need to be approx. 20 miles apart...

Like I said, I have no idea if this is accurate or even partially true...I had never heard of anything like this before, but I thought I'd pass it on...lol...

[vegos]

Here, in Athens, Greece, we have a very nice Metropolitan Network (Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network). We are more than 500 stations, with Access Points etc.

We can use wi-fi for our home-to-home links, but it's not easy to deploy a network that covers almost a town.

You have to use so high power (like cell providers), where at these frequencies/bands are not allowed.

Cellular phones use a "smart" technology at the RF part. They are operating with the less power that they need for connecting with the cell.

From the other hand, WiFi's rf power is -at least, right now- 10 times lowest (a regular cell phone can operate at 1W where WiFi cards at 50 or 100mW).

Also, WiFi regulations says that you can't have more ERP power than 50 or 100mW (in the air). Cells are more than 25W.

If providers are moving to WiFi than RF, that means nothing that operates at 2,4GHz will be available. R/C toys, Video Senders, Cordless Keyboards and/or joystics, everything right now operates at 2,4GHz. FCC has approve that band for personal/non licensed use.

Also, WiFi is not so good in passing walls, tunnels etc. It's more difficult to implement (that's why for example the 3G coverage is less than GSM).

Look here: AWMN WiND - Wireless Nodes Database. You probably don't understand what's written there, but take a look at the maps. They show how many access points are available in Athens, and how close they are.

Believe me, as I'm using WiFi technology from the start, there are not more that 10 places where WiFi coverage is available at the road or inside a building.

[Noeld1024]

Fair enough...thanks for the input...that sheds some light on the issue...

[vegos]

PS

Don't forget the cost too. Cell providers are paying for the frequencies are using. 3G licenses are costs too much. It's to expensive to put all of their equipment and buy new, also no one constructor (yet) has plans for telephony (like the way we know it, not VoIP) over WiFi and the most important. Every end user has to buy a new phone (another one reason that all carriers are using both GSM/3G technologies).