News

Free cordless telephony via your GSM phone at work - Red-M

The breakthrough from having to pay Vodafone or its rivals every time you use your cellphone has been made by Red-M - which has provided a way of using Bluetooth to dial out over an office exchange instead.

Bluetooth voice connections direct to the office exchange are - obviously - cheaper than calls placed over the GSM network; but until today, it was only theoretically possible to use the same phone out in the street and in the office. The difference: a new Bluetooth system from Red-M which integrates Bluetooth voice into its Genos wirelessware - and delivers a new category of Bluetooth voice and data access points.

The good news isn't immediate, however; the system isn't due to start testing till later this year, and shipments to impatient mobile users aren't likely (in our opinion) this year. And you'll need the right phone, of which there are still none available.

Red-M's in-building mobile voice strategy was announced yesterday, together with a roadmap, which includes the integration of voice into Genos wirelessware - and a new category of Bluetooth voice and data access points (VDAP). And you have the option of building in WLAN (WiFi 802.11b) technology into the same access point.

Quite rightly, Red-M is crowing over the achievement. It quotes Joyce Putscher, Director/Principal Analyst for Bluetooth technology at In-Stat/MDR, who comments: "Red-M was the very first company to demonstrate a voice call over Bluetooth, and this was one of the reasons why it won the first ever innovation award at the Bluetooth Congress in June 2000."

Putscher continues: "Incorporating its voice expertise in Genos demonstrates the potential of the technology and sends a very strong signal to the industry. Red-M has grasped the genuine needs of customers by integrating 802.11 wireless LAN and Bluetooth in Genos, and enabling a range of in-building mobile voice and data applications. I believe this is an extremely compelling proposition for operators."

The fly in the ointment is that to use this feature of Genos, you need a cellphone that not only has Bluetooth, but also has the CTP or cordless telephony profile; software which enables it to behave as if it were an ordinary DECT cordless phone, only using Bluetooth instead of DECT frequencies.

The Genos voice module enables Bluetooth headsets and Bluetooth CTP-enabled cellular handsets to use this same wireless network infrastructure for making and receiving calls when the user is in the office. But the list of CTP-enabled phones is, today, a very short list indeed (we're still looking for one!) and they aren't expected to be the majority of cellphones this year, and maybe not even till the end of next year.

Red-M isn't the only Bluetooth access point provider to recognise CTP, but its Genos software doesn't just recognise the phone, and allow access: it also provides seamless hand-off between access points, and "hassle-free integration with the organization's existing PBX voice infrastructure (including the latest VoIP systems) through the H.323 and SIP standards," says the official announcement.

Simon Gawne, vice-president and co-founder of Red-M believes the cost savings will be substantial: "Our work has shown that organizations can save up to 25% of their mobile call costs and 40% of their infrastructure costs by moving to an in-building mobile voice infrastructure that uses mobile handsets."

Critical customer issues include integration with the existing voice infrastructure, compatibility with emerging technologies such as VoIP, security and management, and integration with the existing wired and wireless LAN infrastructure. "We are the first company to solve all of these problems with Genos," said Gawne.

Red-M will demonstrate the voice and data capabilities of Genos at the Bluetooth Congress 2002, RAI, Amsterdam from 11th to 14th June. Commercial trials of Red-M's voice solution begin in the 3rd quarter of 2002. For further information, please visit the voice pages at Red-M.