When it is about wireless technology people usually believe it is about mobile phones or wireless internet only, where in fact, it involves a lot more than just this; the next generation devices and systems are aimed at integrating all the telecommunication functions into one small device. So, whether it is your phone, television, printers, computer or any other tech gadget, you’ll have it all in one device over one network.
Wireless technology has already replaced cable networks to a large extent. It has spread rapidly throughout the world in just few years time. People prefer wireless devices due to the ease and flexibility of use they offer. Along with this, wireless communication has brought several other advantages; increased efficiency and high speed data transfer has done great favor to many industries and businesses round the globe can now stay connected with high speed connections. The connection can be maintained 24/7 no matter where you go. The benefits of flexibility and mobility have made staying in touch very convenient. One of the biggest advantages of evolved wireless communication is its reduced costs; wireless systems are cheaper to install as well as use.
Owing to their rapid evolution, mobile phones have remained to be the most prominent devices embedded with wireless communication. Although mobile phones have truly revolutionized communication generally, VoIP has in fact breached the barriers in international communication.
VoIP or voice over internet protocol basically refers to the methods by which multimedia sessions are transmitted through internet rather than telephone networks. Although the first VoIP call was made back in 1973, the first known VoIP software came to light in the year 1995 when modern internet era had just begun. The US based company Vocaltec released its first VoIP software called Internet Phone; this became viral as soon as it came to the consumer market. Although there were several problems in this software involving slow internet and hardware issues, the foundations for VoIP were laid. By 1998, 1% of calls made in US were using VoIP. The Broadband revolution came and VoIP technology improved and spread significantly. The second generation software was Skype but it too had its limitations despite the fact that it became immensely popular and is still widely in use. The third generation VoIP software was Google Talk. Gtalk came with the benefit of Federated VoIP; it did not restrict users to their own network or any hardware specifications. Today we have VoIP integrated smart phones.
Another major breakthrough was video conferencing over internet protocol. Video conferencing involves a two way video and audio transmission between two or more locations. AT&T was the first one to introduce video conferencing in the year 1970. At that time this technology was too expensive. Names like Ericsson, DARTnet, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone and IBM were involved in developing this mode of communication further. Because it was too expensive, no business or individual adopted it, but, however, in 1990s when IP evolved and so did video compression technology, the video conferencing system at last became affordable; in the year 1991 IBM introduced the first PC based video conferencing software which could be used at rates as low as $30 per line per hour. By 2003, the cost of high speed internet became quite low and web cameras became popular. General public soon adopted video conferencing via free software programs which allowed video calling on personal computers.
Today, the next generation smart phones allow wireless video conferencing as well as voice calling. Telecommunication industry is focused on integrating all the services into one device which would serve as user bank, phone, entertainment device and much more. The upcoming products revolve around this concept and also strive to improve reception, speed and quality of user experience. Data transfer speeds of several megabits per seconds over internet have long been achieved and wireless technology certainly looks forward to enhance data transfer experience. The technology is already being used in several applications with varying scope and use; NFC has recently released its award winning wireless pet ID tags. Hence, there is no field or industry which isn’t using wireless technology.
New wireless technologies involve WiMax, WRAN, Cognitive Radio and the top brands in wireless technology providers include 4INFO, DSPc, Vivato and PacketHop.
