Hello everyone and Happy Columbus Day.

There was some interesting WiMAX news recently out of Russia that I wanted to take a closer look at today.  According to FierceTelecom, Russian WiMAX carrier, Yota, said it will be offering WiMAX devices that can make VoIP calls and allow users to roam onto GSM networks when the user is out of range of the WiMAX network.  I thought this was another good example of how WiMAX not only has major commitments from many countries around the world.

In addition, I was pleased to see the interoperability here between 4G and existing mobile technology – GSM in this case.  As mobile WiMAX and other 4G technologies roll out in the coming months and years, devices will have to be compatible with both 2G, 3G and 4G to ensure users have seamless service across the country. 

This news is also a sign of the continued proliferation of VoIP in the wireless world.  Of course, we saw a glimpse of this in the U.S. last week when AT&T announced that it is letting 3G VoIP onto its iPhone.  Vonage also recently announced a new app for Blackberry and iPhone users that lets them place cheaper international calls from their mobile phones.  This is significant because continues to push the limits of cellular networks while showing the need for 4G technology to roll out quickly.  It seems it won’t be long now till all calling is VoIP-based, whether you’re at work, at home or on your mobile phone.

Have you had any experiences with mobile VoIP?  If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the quality of the call, both as compared to traditional VoIP and regular mobile calls.