Unwired VoIP service expected by April

Unwired said in August that it expected to begin trialling voice carriage on its wireless broadband service in November, but Spence today said that the date was now more likely to be December.

Today, Spence that company was currently conducting internal trials and that external trial participants were expected to be recruited in two tranches, in December and January.

While the trials are just over the horizon, Unwired still hasn't publicly named which telephone carrier (or carriers) will be providing the wireless Internet specialist with PSTN interconnection services.

Spence today said that bringing in a carriage service provider wasn't the company's biggest challenge. He said that the most difficult part was building a billing system around the proposed service.

Unwired is promoting the service on the basis that it would allow 95 percent of Sydney residents to access voice telephony services without paying landline rental fees expected to reach AU$32 next year.

Unwired claims voice call rates for its service will be comparable or cheaper than those provided over conventional copper access regimes.