Rogers targets SMBs with WiFi calling service

Rogers Communications Inc. has introduced its newest service targeting cash-strapped small businesses: Wi-Fi calling for smartphones.

Wi-Fi Calling for Business, introduced March 11, allows clients with smartphones to make and receive calls over Wi-Fi during in their home office, to avoid using up their monthly minutes. Calls automatically transfer to Rogers' network when out of the Wi-Fi signal's range.

Rogers has offered Wi-Fi calling as an add-on service for student-oriented consumer plans starting at $10 per month, however the telecom giant is now marketing the same service to companies who already subscribe to business voice plans.  

"Our phones sit on our desks as nearly a relic," says Gordon Stein, vice-president, business segment at Rogers, referring to landlines in the average office. Instead, more workers are using smartphones and are mobile as they work. Small businesses are as well often operating on tight budgets, so this provides an alternative to spending extra money when you surpass your minutes for the month, Stein says. The service as well allows for a more predictable monthly bill.

Rogers' Wi-Fi calling only works for smartphones that have unlicenced mobile access research, which is already embedded in most of the current BlackBerry models. UMA means your phone will switch between Rogers' wireless cell network and Wi-Fi automatically.

The call is transferred either way

Before the call is transferred either way, the service detects whether the connection is sufficient enough to avoid dropped calls. "These calls can be thoroughly critical," Stein says, and businesses can't afford to have their connections cut off.

With business Wi-Fi calling you can make calls, send and receive text messages through Wi-Fi when you're in a bad spot for your network's reception, like a basement, says Mike Harvey, product manager for unified communications at Rogers.

Rogers recommends the service for businesses that have employees travelling or working remotely often. Businesses considering getting rid of their landlines are as well the target.