The various types of networks that we now use to make calls and access data will be streamlined into an Internet Protocol-based system similar to Wi-Fi, though with much greater bandwidth and speed capability. Voice calls will be made with a method similar to today's Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), allowing users can switch seamlessly back and forth between webpages and voice calls.
CEO Peter Richards of Virtuallogix, in a podcast interview from Network World Panorama, made an interesting comment about how in the future, cell phone networks may become a commodity, if open source platforms like Google's Android become common and devices are no longer locked to networks (like Verizon or Sprint) like they are now.
I believe that phone networks will move beyond GSM, the current standard for cell phones, and into more Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) based services such as Skype (which now has an application for the iPhone) and Vonage. VoIP needs Wi-Fi to work, but I don't think this will be a problem in the future.
As more and more services move online, from filing taxes to applying for jobs to shopping, I think that telecommunications companies will need to expand the ways that consumers can access the Web. It will be in both the private and public sector's best interest to ensure that all people have access to the Web from anywhere, so I can see both the federal government and corporations funding the research and development to make this happen.
One of the best ways to ensure that all people have access to the Web is to provide a wireless network, such as city-wide Wi-Fi or the newer WiMAX standard. WiMAX has only recently been rolled out in the United States - Baltimore is actually a test site for XOHM, a WiMAX network service - but I am sure that it will take off and even better standards will be developed.
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