----- Original Message -----
From: "Owen DeLong" <owen@delong.com>
Pretty soon, cell phones will, essentially, be VOIP devices. In fact, some already are.
In fact, one could argue that LTE cell phones are in essence what VOIP will be when it grows up.
TTBOMK, that isn't *quite* true, yet, Owen. The only US carrier with LTE deployed is VZW, and their only *handset* with LTE is the not-yet-quite-shipped HTC Thunderbolt... and it is my understanding that their first generation release of handsets will *not* be doing PSTN voice as VoIP over the LTE data connection; they'll be dual-mode handsets, using traditional (IS-95? IS-136?) CDMA voice on a separate RF deck. The two reasons I've heard have to do with battery life and the immaturity of the protocol stack or its implementations. LTE-data-only with VoIP for the carrier PSTN service is indeed their goal, but I don't think you can say "Already are" quite yet. Cheers, -- jra