14 DAY TRIAL // Actiontec Electronics Inc., a company that develops solutions enabling its customers to have access to broadband Internet connections, has announced the launch of a new wireless home router that will support the new hybrid mobile/WiFi phones providing VoIP and cellular coverage within a single handset and using a single phone number.
Their FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) Router will help users that walk in and out of the house by facilitating call switching between the mobile and home WiFi networks, this way enhancing the ability of such hybrid types of phone handsets to offer cellular coverage while on the road, a lot less expensive VoIP calls at home and a WiFi enabled connection for calls in homes where the mobile network signal is very weak.
Furthermore, the Actiontec device is able to replace an existing router by taking its functionality in its "own hands" and providing a standalone broadband connectivity solution together with built-in support for hybrid phone operation. Besides this obvious advantage, the Actiontec FMC Router will also significantly improve the quadruple play offering of broadband service and mobile providers.
The new Actiontec router combines an 802.11n access point and a four-port Ethernet router with a type of software that will act as a middleman between cellular network and your broadband connection. While you're at home, the device will automatically establish a WiFi network connection for every call and, in case the user enters or leaves the home while speaking on the phone, the router will connect or disconnect the WiFi conversation as it will be needed, at the same time routing the call to the mobile network when the case and allowing the handset to make the switch between the two call modes without actually disconnecting the call.
The minimum requirements for this device are a hybrid mobile/WiFi handset (UMA enabled for seamless switch between modes), a PC or Macintosh running on Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP, Linux/BSD or Unix, Mac OS 9 or higher, Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape 7.0.
The FMC router also offers support for multiple home users with different mobile devices working on the same service provider and features an included firewall, plus 64/128-bit WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption and the ability to attach virtual WiFi networks for each mobile handset, laptop or other device to protect against eavesdroppers.
The Actiontec Wireless FMC Router will be available in the second quarter of 2007 at the .actiontec.com website and through mass market retailers for a price tag of 179.99 $.