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The iPhone-using world just got a shot in the arm for VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) communication. Global IP Solutions (GIPS) has announced support for application developers for VoIP-based utilities running on the iPhone -- which means that actual VoIP calling might not be far off.
In simple terms, VoIP lets a phone make calls using the Internet as the delivery backbone rather than a regular telecom service. Some cell phones have the ability to make VoIP calls via a wireless Internet connection. Personal computers have been able to do this for years, and handset manufacturers have been taking enterprise call centers by storm with VoIP hardware and software. VoIP calling is typically less expensive than using traditional land-line telecommunications services, and in terms of mobile calling, it avoids using up cellular minutes. Skype and Vonage, for example, are two well-known VoIP solution providers in the consumer space.
For iPhone users in the U.S., this announcement means that customers may soon be able to make calls via VoIP applications instead of using up their AT&T (NYSE: T) minutes -- though the backbone would be via WiFi-based Internet access rather than AT&T's EDGE or 3G-based mobile Internet service. Making a VoIP call over AT&T's own cellular data system in way that bypasses the carrier's service minutes would not only add insult to injury to the carrier, it would also likely violate key terms of service agreements with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Most other iPhone carriers around the world presumably have similar agreements in place that would protect their core businesses.
But There's Much More Than Saving Minutes
Besides avoiding long-distance and overtime charges, one compelling aspect of VoIP is the integration with other applications that can take advantage of technology. Games, for example, could use VoIP to let players communicate with each other from within the game application. For business use, two colleagues could look at a document and discuss it in real time. None of these scenarios are new, by the way -- they would just be new to the wildly growing iPhone ecosystem ... and essentially new to the cell phone world at large.
"Most cell phones use the cell phone network, [though] a few smartphones are adding VoIP capability also," Jeff Kagan, a telecommunications industry analyst, told MacNewsWorld.
"Currently I don't see this expanding to the average cell phone yet; however, we don't really know what technology will spread until it does," he added.
The Details
GIPS is headquartered in San Francisco and provides voice and video processing engines for IP networks. Application developers and service providers utilize GIPS' technology in their own applications. Some key customers are Nortel, Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), Samsung, WebEx, Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) and AOL.
The company will license its GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile processing technology, which is based on the popular Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) iLBC codec standard. The iLBC codec is a narrowband speech algorithm designed to optimize calls made over the Internet -- and, it turns out, is actually on the iPhone already.
What, then, is it used for?
"That I can't disclose," John Gallagher, a spokesperson for GIPS, told MacNewsWorld.
A quick peek in the legal notices found in Apple's iPhone 3G implies that the GIPS code is indeed already on the iPhone and that non-commercial use appears to be permitted under the terms of the GIPS iLBC code license. Commercial deployment requires registration with GIPS.
It seems as if Apple had the foresight to lay the foundation for VoIP in the iPhone, which isn't exactly surprising since the iPhone is basically a mini computer. Will the iLBC codec that's already on the iPhone make it easier for developers to deliver VoIP-based applications?
Presumably yes, but Gallagher declined to comment on specifics. So what's the basic process from here?
"They [developers] would build their application on our media processing unit, which is called a 'voice engine,' and what we do is make sure it integrates optimally with the iPhone," Gallagher explained.
"We provide the voice engine to application developers so they can concentrate on their core business and know they've got the highest quality VoIP using our voice engine -- which works very well, especially under strained conditions on the network, [making it] perfect for a WiFi network," he added.
What About Video?
GIPS also handles engines for video processing over IP networks. Assuming the iPhone had a forward-facing camera, could it also work with mobile video?
"What I can tell you is that we're well known for doing the voice side of things and also video, so it's definitely on our roadmap," Gallagher said, though he declined to note any iPhone-specific solutions.
"We were the first company to announce HD video conferencing on a software platform, so [mobile video is] something that we will be working on and will continue to work on," he added.
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