Gadgets blur the line between telephony and Internet

Mar 12, 2006
Updated 02:23pm (Mla time)
Sophie Estienne
Agence France-Presse

HANOVER, Germany--Telecom companies are breaking down the barrier between phone networks and the Internet, with mobile phones that can surf online at the speed of a broadband connection and portable handsets that hook up to a fixed line or mobile network wherever you go.

Companies unveiled several models uniting mobile and Internet technology at the CeBIT technology fair here this week, reflecting a growing trend of manufacturers equipping phones with voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP).

Taiwanese company Benq -- owner of the mobile phone business of German manufacturer Siemens -- presented P51, a phone installed with the Skype program that enables telephone calls through an Internet connection.

South Korean firm Samsung demonstrated a prototype mobile phone that can transmit voice and images via a wi-fi local wireless Internet connection.

Finnish manufacturer Nokia also recently unveiled its 6136 model, which allows users to make calls via the Internet in areas equipped with wi-fi networks.

Mobile network operators have already begun to offer novel services for domestic calls. In Germany, Vodafone and O2 offer reduced charges for mobile calls made within a limited radius around the home.

Internet users are set to benefit increasingly from mobile telephones too, with new models unveiled that allow online surfing on a mobile phone at high speed comparable to that of a broadband connection in the home.

German companies Vodafone and the Deutsch Telekom-owned T-Mobile at CeBIT launched services that offer high download speeds of up to 10 megabits per second.

The technology is currently only available for portable computers, but telephone makers plan to launch mobile phones that can surf the Internet at these high speeds later in the year.

The services use high-speed downlink packet access (HDSPA) technology -- a highly advanced version of the existing universal mobile telephony system (HMTS) which offers far lower speeds of around 380 kilobits per second.

Benq-Siemens intends to launch its version of this high-speed Internet phone, the EF91, in Europe in a few months, while Samsung and Nokia also have models in the pipeline.

The real future of mobile technology, however, looks likely to be a new breed of all-condition multi-function telephone that adapts to a fixed or mobile network depending on where it is.

Deutsch Telekom unveiled Tuesday at CeBIT its "dual phone": a handset that serves as both a fixed-line or mobile handset.

Users of the dual phone will be able to make calls through a fixed line inside a building, a mobile phone network outside or via the Internet in a wi-fi-equipped zone -- and receive a single bill for all calls.

As many operators race to develop similar devices, Deutsche Telekom announced its TC300 model, while Nokia announced two models -- the E60 and N80 -- to be released in the second half of the year.

British Telecom launched the first such dual device, the BT Fusion, last year.

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