South Africa’s mobile industry is set for a shake-up as a local Wi-Fi calling platform launches.<\/p>\n
Hotspot network AlwaysOn, which is owned by Internet Solutions, is taking direct aim at mobile networks with the launch of a Wi-Fi calling offer, the company announced late on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The service is device and platform agnostic and you simply go the website, register and an SMS will be sent with instructions to activate the service.<\/p>\n
“We hope that by providing this service we will enable more people to be connected which is great for the country,” said AlwaysOn managing director Hayden Lamberti.<\/p>\n
Calls to AlwaysOn users will be free and calls to fixed line and mobile numbers in SA will be charged at R50 per hour, on a per second basis, the company said.<\/p>\n
There are several over-the-top (OTT) providers operating in SA. You can make calls on Facebook-owned WhatsApp, and Skype has long offered VOIP, or voice over IP services.<\/p>\n
AlwaysOn differentiates itself because it has a Wi-Fi network with 2 200 hotspots in the country located mainly in urban areas.<\/p>\n
Carrier grade Wi-Fi has had a slow start internationally as operators show some reluctance to allow customers to use the unlicensed spectrum.<\/p>\n
In the US, Sprint and T-Mobile provide Wi-Fi calling where the device can automatically switch to a Wi-Fi network if the mobile network in unavailable.<\/p>\n
Cursory investigations suggest that even a slow 1mbps Wi-Fi connection is sufficient to host a call, but the faster the network, the more likely users will have a better experience.<\/p>\n
The AlwaysOn Wi-Fi calling service launches officially on June 8, and the company is offering 60 minutes of free talk time to local mobile networks.<\/p>\n
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