As the footprint grows for 1xEV-DO Rev. A, wireless operators such as Sprint are becoming more serious about their mobile VOIP deployments. At the upcoming CTIA Wireless 2008 conference in Las Vegas April 1-3, we expect to hear more buzz about VOIP than ever before.
In fact, on Tuesday, April 1, Sprint, Nortel, Ericsson, Motorola, Qualcomm and others will be hosting a mobile VOIP discussion at the confab. Key topics will include challenges to deploying carrier grade mobile VOIP, the benefits to operators and the role of mobile VOIP in fixed mobile convergence.
It's actually quite surprising that a session dedicated to Mobile VOIP is occurring at the largest North American wireless trade show. Not so long ago, mobile operators were threatened by the possibility of VOIP taking voice traffic away from circuit switched networks and hindering their revenues.
Of course, the mobile world is evolving and open networks and open applications platforms are a boon to mobile VOIP. At CTIA, FierceMarkets will be hosting a co-located conference, "The Path to 4G," and our panel on the Open Network Promise will feature panelist Christopher Libertelli [1], senior director, government and regulatory affairs at Skype. You can register for the event when you register for CTIA. Check out our full agenda here. [2] --Sue [3]
P.S. Fierce will once again host its popular networking party. Join us on April 1 from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at Rain at The Palm in Las Vegas. RSVP here. [4]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/hot-seat-skypes-christopher-libertelli/2008-02-01
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/events/4G/agenda.php
[3] mailto:sue@fiercemarkets.com
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/carnivale/