Random observations, teachings and musings of a well trained cubicle superhero.
http://j1.ca
Sunday, May 25, 2008
May 25. 2008
UMA, UNO and Home Calling Zone Explained
Jay, a.k.a. “The Cubicle Superhero”, is a self-professed tech junkie with a passion for music and culture 
Email Jay
Internet – The Freshman years
Back when I was in university, dial up was starting to loose its crown as THE way to access the web, High speed cable and DSL services were slowly being rolled out, and Chumbawamba was very excited about something called Tubthumping. It was a strange time.
My classmates and I were locked in the halls of academia debating what was to come of this large interconnected web of computer networks. The idea mainly was that all information, news and media would be delivered through this endless river of data. In this utopian vision, there would be no need for phone lines, separate television screens, books, or getting off your couch to go shopping. We’re not quite there, but as technology evolves and matures, the Internet is enabling consumers to do a few of these things really well.
Early VoIP – Painful and lacked words
I think we’ve all heard the term VoIP in the past few years. The idea of making calls over the Internet and slashing your costs sounded fantastic. Up until now, however, this very often involved an unreliable and technically intricate setup. Unfortunately, bandwidth speeds weren’t quite reliable in those days either. This left you strung to your laptop, trying to decipher what sounded like a bad Kraftwerk remix. Not exactly the best way to enjoy a chat with a friend, especially for someone who enjoys a stroll as they talk. My girlfriend suffered the wrath of my makeshift headset tripwire on more than a few occasions.
Smaller, Clearer, Faster, Stronger
Well, we’ve come a long way. Current Internet subscription levels provide more than enough bandwidth to carry consistently high quality voice calling. Residential WiFi routers have unwired that speed, sending it to every corner of the home, even to areas where cellular signals could never reach. VoIP hardware has advanced, refined and compressed into a form hardware manufacturers can package into cellular handsets. The result? A clever and revolutionary combination of technologies called the Rogers Home Calling Zone (along side Fido’s Uno service).
Under the hood, the service that makes it all work is a service called UMA, or Unlicensed Mobile Access. Data does still flow over your router’s internet connection so you’ll want to confirm you’re subscribed to Rogers Express, Extreme or the equivalent. If you don’t have a router, Rogers has a Home Calling Zone optimized version available, complete with a single “easy-connect” button. This router has all the settings preset for the UMA handset; including a built-in little traffic cop feature that ensures your calls gets priority over anything else.
UMA Canada for $20
So with all the gear in place, what’s the next step? Grab a phone and start gabbing! Rogers and Fido both have a small (but growing) selection of UMA enabled handsets. Rogers is currently offering the Nokia 6086 clamshell, and Fido has the candy bar style Nokia 6301. I expect a few UMA enabled BlackBerry handsets will join that group in the near future. On any of these handsets, adding the $15 plan to your existing cellular service allows unlimited calls within your home calling region on UMA, and the $20 plan gives you the same access to all of Canada. At this point you can’t add just the home calling zone to a phone, without a traditional cellular package.
How does it all work? Depending on which signal is stronger, your phone will seamlessly and automatically switch between your UMA router and the cellular network. It doesn’t matter whether you start your call outside and then head downstairs, out of GSM range, or move from a UMA call out to regular cellular service; your call will continue without disruption. Billing is based on where the call begins too, so you can continue that call you started at home, to the grocery store without long distance fees.
What Network Am I ON?
At home, your handset screen will display “UMA,” a WiFi icon, or list the name of your access point rather than the typical EDGE, GPRS or GSM. The phone will behave exactly as it would on the GSM network, allowing you to make and receive calls, text and MMS messages. Location-based calling services like #-taxi are the exception. Without the ability to pinpoint the location of your call, 911 services will also work a little differently on UMA. When you sign up, you’ll be asked to provide an address where you will most likely be using your phone. So at the beginning of your emergency call, you’ll need to restate your location, or assistance will be sent to this default location.
UMA passes the Acid Test
Innovations like this are very exciting. As a VoIP and technology nut, I’ve been toiling to cobble together solutions like this for years. The results of which have been costly and disappointing both in quality and practicality. Before investing I use what I call the Crush-a-tron test, where I hand any technology I’m testing to my tech-loathing brother. If it comes back in pieces, or accompanied by a sticky note filled with expletives, it fails. I handed him the new Nokia 6301 this weekend and he ordered a pizza. I think that constitutes a roaring success.
Jay, a.k.a. “The Cubicle Superhero”, is a self-professed tech junkie with a passion for music and culture Email JayBack when I was in university, dial up was starting to loose its crown as THE way to access the web, High speed cable and DSL services were slowly being rolled out, and Chumbawamba was very excited about something called Tubthumping. It was a strange time.
My classmates and I were locked in the halls of academia debating what was to come of this large interconnected web of computer networks. The idea mainly was that all information, news and media would be delivered through this endless river of data. In this utopian vision, there would be no need for phone lines, separate television screens, books, or getting off your couch to go shopping. We’re not quite there, but as technology evolves and matures, the Internet is enabling consumers to do a few of these things really well.
Early VoIP – Painful and lacked words
I think we’ve all heard the term VoIP in the past few years. The idea of making calls over the Internet and slashing your costs sounded fantastic. Up until now, however, this very often involved an unreliable and technically intricate setup. Unfortunately, bandwidth speeds weren’t quite reliable in those days either. This left you strung to your laptop, trying to decipher what sounded like a bad Kraftwerk remix. Not exactly the best way to enjoy a chat with a friend, especially for someone who enjoys a stroll as they talk. My girlfriend suffered the wrath of my makeshift headset tripwire on more than a few occasions.
Smaller, Clearer, Faster, Stronger
Well, we’ve come a long way. Current Internet subscription levels provide more than enough bandwidth to carry consistently high quality voice calling. Residential WiFi routers have unwired that speed, sending it to every corner of the home, even to areas where cellular signals could never reach. VoIP hardware has advanced, refined and compressed into a form hardware manufacturers can package into cellular handsets. The result? A clever and revolutionary combination of technologies called the Rogers Home Calling Zone (along side Fido’s Uno service).
Under the hood, the service that makes it all work is a service called UMA, or Unlicensed Mobile Access. Data does still flow over your router’s internet connection so you’ll want to confirm you’re subscribed to Rogers Express, Extreme or the equivalent. If you don’t have a router, Rogers has a Home Calling Zone optimized version available, complete with a single “easy-connect” button. This router has all the settings preset for the UMA handset; including a built-in little traffic cop feature that ensures your calls gets priority over anything else.
UMA Canada for $20
So with all the gear in place, what’s the next step? Grab a phone and start gabbing! Rogers and Fido both have a small (but growing) selection of UMA enabled handsets. Rogers is currently offering the Nokia 6086 clamshell, and Fido has the candy bar style Nokia 6301. I expect a few UMA enabled BlackBerry handsets will join that group in the near future. On any of these handsets, adding the $15 plan to your existing cellular service allows unlimited calls within your home calling region on UMA, and the $20 plan gives you the same access to all of Canada. At this point you can’t add just the home calling zone to a phone, without a traditional cellular package.
How does it all work? Depending on which signal is stronger, your phone will seamlessly and automatically switch between your UMA router and the cellular network. It doesn’t matter whether you start your call outside and then head downstairs, out of GSM range, or move from a UMA call out to regular cellular service; your call will continue without disruption. Billing is based on where the call begins too, so you can continue that call you started at home, to the grocery store without long distance fees.
What Network Am I ON?
At home, your handset screen will display “UMA,” a WiFi icon, or list the name of your access point rather than the typical EDGE, GPRS or GSM. The phone will behave exactly as it would on the GSM network, allowing you to make and receive calls, text and MMS messages. Location-based calling services like #-taxi are the exception. Without the ability to pinpoint the location of your call, 911 services will also work a little differently on UMA. When you sign up, you’ll be asked to provide an address where you will most likely be using your phone. So at the beginning of your emergency call, you’ll need to restate your location, or assistance will be sent to this default location.
UMA passes the Acid Test
Innovations like this are very exciting. As a VoIP and technology nut, I’ve been toiling to cobble together solutions like this for years. The results of which have been costly and disappointing both in quality and practicality. Before investing I use what I call the Crush-a-tron test, where I hand any technology I’m testing to my tech-loathing brother. If it comes back in pieces, or accompanied by a sticky note filled with expletives, it fails. I handed him the new Nokia 6301 this weekend and he ordered a pizza. I think that constitutes a roaring success.
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