Cell Phone Reception Through Wifi

Cell phones can use your home's wireless internet connection to make and receive calls. It's a handy technology if the cell phone coverage in and around your house is in a dead zone. Phones will automatically select Wifi if it's there but will require a compromise between economy and mobility. For example, Voice over Wifi offers potentially free service but is only available within the coverage area of a Wifi Access Point and currently will not allow you to hop between networks.

VoIP mobile applications that may be compatible with your phone's operating system.

Skype - iPhone, Windows Mobile, Nokia
Line2 - iPhone, Android

Truphone - Nokia-Symbian, iPhone, Android, Blackberry

Jajah - Windows Mobile, Symbian OS

fring - Symbian 8.x and 9.x, Windows Mobile 5 and 6, iPhone, Maemo

Nimbuzz!- J2ME, S60, Windows Mobile, iPhone

Gizmo5 - Windows Mobile, Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, Java PDA, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung

Windows Mobile 6 - Windows Mobile 6 Professional/Standard


3 Mobile VoIP Protocols The Applications Above Are Built On

Skype - closed proprietary peer to peer network and working on video mobile phones

SIP - the standard used by most VoIP services

UMA - the Unlicensed Mobile Access Generic Access Network, designed in response to Skype by a group of carriers to allow VoIP to run over the GSM cellular backbone.

See Wikipedia VoIP software platforms for more details. The challenge for the mobile operator industry is to deliver the benefits and innovations of IP without losing control of the network service. Users like the Internet to be free and high speed without extra charges for browsing the internet. VoIP services challenges the most valuable service in the telecommunications industry — voice — and threatens to change the nature of the global communications industry.  Net neutrality is an important issue with the FCC for these reasons.

Related article: UMA Phone + Wi-Fi = Home Cell Coverage