Cell phone industry steps closer to voice over Wi-Fi

Wojtek Felendzer held a mobile phone to his ear as he walked across the room, the call automatically switching behind the scenes from a Wi-Fi wireless hotspot to the regular cellular network.

''Can you still hear me?'' the Nokia Corp. employee asked.

''Yes,'' the reporter answered.

''That's good,'' he said. ''This is seamless handover. The voice didn't drop. Nothing bad happened.'' While Felendzer took only a few steps, his demonstration at the CTIA Wireless 2006 conference here proved that mobile Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, technology has made a meaningful step forward. For years, Wi-Fi telephones and walkie-talkie-like communicators have been available for hospitals and offices. Now, manufacturers and mobile carriers are preparing to linkstandard cellular networks to the mishmash of Wi-Fi hotspots, a move that will expand coverage and perhaps make cheaper mobile minutes a reality.