Kyocera Commits To Cellular-Wi-Fi Phones

Mobile phone vendor Kyocera said Monday that it will work with Boingo Wireless to enable its handsets to seamlessly switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

Kyocera became the latest phone vendor to commit to the WiFi/cellular convergence at the CTIA Wireless show being held this week in New Orleans. A Nokia executive said that all his company's smartphones will handle both types of wireless connectivity within two years.

Boingo's software enables roaming between the two types of wireless networks. Boingo also serves as a hotspot aggregator, providing subscribers with hotspot access in a number of countries.

Vendors and industry analysts say the roaming will become increasingly necessary as wireless voice-over-IP becomes increasingly used. In addition, Wi-Fi offers higher data speeds than cellular data networks.

The companies announced only their agreement to work together and did not say when the converged devices will be available.