Seems like there's a wifi router just about everywhere these days.

So, if we could get some system going, route the calls via the routers and cut out the mobile phone companies.

Be a devil to price though, and make sure everyone in the network got their 1 cent or whatever.
-- random_patenter_syndrome_victim, Jun 25 2009

It's pretty baked .. tried and dropped http://vowlan.wifin...iemens_says_wi.html
See this from 2007, discussing how wi-fi only phones have worked ... [kindachewy, Jun 27 2009]

Batphone http://www.abc.net....rs/txt/s2991021.htm
The Batphone lets mobile telephones talk directly to each other, without using a tower. Extra software then makes each phone act a bit like a phone exchange, connecting calls between phones that aren't close enough to connect directly. [xaviergisz, Sep 02 2010]

Anyone remember the rabbit? Was a system for mobiles originally that meant if your handset was in range of a base station (now wifi hotspot) you could make calls. Around about 1993 I think.

Also - cellpphone companies are hitting max throughput on GSM, so they actually want as many calls as possible to route via other mechanisms, even if they don't get as much revenue.
-- kindachewy, Jun 25 2009


So, what's the difference between this and existing VoIP services like Skype?
-- jutta, Jun 27 2009


"So, what's the difference between this and existing VoIP services like Skype?"

That's a good point, it'd need a mobile phone that could connect to the routers, even with Skype you still have to pay to call a landline or mobile.
-- random_patenter_syndrome_victim, Jun 27 2009


I don't know how far along push-to-talk models are (they have been touted for years), but essentially the technology exists for this and other protocols. I.e you could push-to-talk to a router (within the same cell, that is how it works), that router could take you anywhere and push-to-talk from there.

Anyway, as soon as mobile companies stop making huge margins, either via competition or legislation, you will get this functionality. For now though there is just too much money in people phoning or texting each other to see if they know that MJ is dead...
-- 4whom, Jun 27 2009


Another problem is that someone generally owns, and pays for, the bandwidth used by the router. They are generally not happy to share it. You would need to develop a secure micropayment solution in order to get this going, and I would imagine *that* is the main sticking point.
-- 4whom, Jun 27 2009


// even with Skype you still have to pay to call a landline or mobile

The service you're proposing has no way of calling a land line or a mobile phone at all. So, the main difference between what you're proposing and what's already there is that the existing stuff has extra features? I still must be missing something.
-- jutta, Jun 27 2009


[jutta] although the proposed idea has no way of communicating with a circuit switched network, it has a fair chance, if set up correctly, of going at packet switched networks. For this reason it might be possible to get mobile calls through, even if by some manipulation of push-to-talk.

Still, I think you are swimming upstream against the router owners and their bandwidth. Micropayments are *the* problem.
-- 4whom, Jun 27 2009


This is solved with VoIP over WiFi. Multimode handsets are now widely (if not cheaply) available. It is a bugger to price - except that handsets are bundled in with long-term contracts and the cellular provider throws in WiFi access via some common provider like TheCloud (or whomever does Starbucks/MacDonalds etc.). At least, that's what UK operator O2 do with their iPhone bundles.

[kindachewy]: Do you have a source (or even anecdotal evidence) that suggests that GSM operators reaching max throughput?
-- Jinbish, Jun 27 2009


[jinbish] - had a guy used to work for me who had been in New Product Development at one of the big mobile networks, who was source for this one.

Also, we are currently facing massive problems as the cell towers they put up are having to handle so much traffic that their coverage areas no longer overlap, and they can' t get permission to put enough more towers in between.
-- kindachewy, Jun 27 2009


This is a great idea in many ways, but unfortunately baked. See link.

Also, as [Jutta] says, VOIP software over 3G/Wifi allows this on a GSM phone already.

As pointed out above the challenges are micropayments and temination (getting your call out to someone who's on a GSM or PSTN network handset without it getting expensive)

Unfortunately HB is only for ideas you don't want to work on in real life, because I'm working with some cool stuff in both areas right now ...
-- kindachewy, Jun 27 2009


[kinda...] Aaah, yes, tapping the eternal font of truth that ex-employees is.

I would agree that cells are getting burdened. Max throughput? I waiver. Besides the cells are structured to overlap to some extent, especially the smaller cells (nanos and picos). I would imagine that the bottleneck might be happening at the T2/data throughput line level.

Another little known tidbit, is that these towers "bounce" signals to other towers for processing. Unbelievable but true.
-- 4whom, Jun 27 2009


We, as a population, have been experiencing "dropped calls" or low QoS for some time now. I know for a fact this has nothing to do with overburden/ max throughput on the towers and processing units. What it has to do with is two-fold. The UPS systems have been augmented with diesel generator sets. There was a slight mess there, and the UPS units drained out. The second had to do with the land based connections to central servers. People have been digging up every roadside to lay infrastructure for the 2010 Fifa event. Some of those holes disrupted legacy systems.
-- 4whom, Jun 27 2009



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