All WiFi Calling Is Not Created Equal: Technical innovator Republic Wireless Further Advances Two-Way Seamless Handover Between Cellular and WiFi Networks
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) July 24, 2015 -- WiFi calling leader Republic Wireless today announced “Project Salsa” a several week initiative to test in-call two-way handover between cellular and WiFi networks. Today, calls made on a cellular network stay on the cellular network for the duration of the call. With Project Salsa, Republic is testing its technology to seamlessly handover cellular circuit-switched calls to the WiFi network when possible. The trial will involve several thousand customers who voluntarily opted into the company’s Republic Labs initiative which was designed to directly involve Republic customers in research and development of future products and features.
“It’s simple: The more WiFi you use to power your smartphone, the more coverage you have and the more we enable you to save. We believe WiFi calling should work just as well, if not better, than a cellular only experience. Customers should not have to think about what network they are on – their phone should just work,” said Jon Schniepp, Senior Vice President, Product Management of Republic Wireless.
“We are technical innovators at heart, determined to drive forward an industry leading WiFi calling experience. Seamless should be seamless. That means seamless connectivity back and forth between all networks. Regardless of network type. Regardless of carrier. Regardless of what network the call originated on. Without launching an app or airplane mode to access a WiFi radio,” Schniepp said. “We believe WiFi calling should work exactly the same as the mobile network, meaning you may not even notice you're actually using a WiFi network rather than the mobile one – although with Republic Wireless you do get an icon in the status bar alerting you to the fact.”
Republic was the first wireless service provider to crack the code on WiFi to cellular seamless handover with the introduction of the Moto X/1st Generation in November 2013. Some 25 patents later, the company has been building out their systems and testing two-way cellular to WiFi handover algorithms internally for almost a year. While the mechanics of a cellular to WiFi handover are similar to a WiFi to cellular handover, the triggering of such a handover requires different consideration. Republic endeavors to ensure that the WiFi network will be capable of handling the call, and that calls won’t constantly flip-flop between networks.
About Republic Wireless
Recognized as the winner of PC Magazine’s Annual Reader’s Choice Award, the top pre-paid service provider by Consumer Reports and named ‘Disruptor of the Year’ by Entrepreneur Magazine, Republic Wireless is on a mission to create smartphone service as it should be.
Republic Wireless, a division of Bandwidth, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, is spearheading a wireless freedom movement to return value and control of the smartphone experience to members by leveraging the power of both WiFi and cellular networks. The service uses WiFi in the home, office or anywhere else as the primary network for calls, texts and data. When outside of WiFi coverage, the smartphone works just like a typical smartphone on the cellular networks of national CDMA carriers. Visit http://www.republicwireless.com/ for more information. Media resource center here.
Media Relations, Republic Wireless, http://www.republicwireless.com, +1 919-238-1415, [email protected]
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