SIP WiFi Phones Aid Seamless Enterprise Communication

By Brad (Biju) Oommen

Originally published in UC Network Management

UC Network Management Featured Article

January 14, 2019

SIP WiFi Phones Aid Seamless Enterprise Communication

By Biju Oommen -

WiFi is pervasive and has become a mainstream enterprise technology. It has been continuously developing and improved considerably since its initial inception and implementations. Technology innovation and features such as multi-band operation with Band steering and WiFi Multimedia (WMM) are good reasons for implementing a converged enterprise WiFi network that can aid in seamless voice communications.

Fig. A. WP820

VoIP on a wireless LAN extends the reach of enterprise voice services. It can facilitate placing and receiving calls from anywhere where there is access to an enterprise Wi-Fi network. It is convenient and productive as it provides agility and mobility in various enterprise deployment scenarios. As a part of the enterprise Digital Transformation strategy, one of our objectives could be to provide a voice mobility
solution to communicate cost effectively and efficiently using a converged enterprise VoIP WiFi network.
Grandstream Networks’ solution in the enterprise voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) space is the Enterprise Portable Wi-Fi Phone WP820 shown in Fig. A.
The Grandstream Networks Enterprise Portable Wi-Fi Phone WP820 datasheet includes all of the products’ specs.
Grandstream Networks’ WP820 offers a host of features such as: integrated dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, two SIP accounts and two lines, 3-way audio conferencing, HD voice with dual microphones, advanced antenna design for   fast and reliable WiFi roaming, integrated Bluetooth, auxiliary ports (3.5 mm headset jack and a Micro-USB port for charging), Graphic TFT color LCD Display 2.4-inch (240x320) with three programmable soft keys, and a 1500mAh rechargeable battery with 150 hours standby time and 7.5 hours talk time. It range is 300m/50m (outdoor/indoor).  WP820’s Bluetooth v4.2 is useful for pairing with headsets and mobile devices. QoS and Codec support includes: QoS Layer 2 (802.1p), 802.11e and Layer 3 (ToS, DiffServ, and MPLS) QoS, G.722, G.711µ/A, G.729A/B, iLBC, Opus etc. The proximity sensor on this device detects and measures gravitational acceleration, tilt, and vibration. It is also equipped with a PTT (Push-to-Talk) key.

Fig. B. WP820 Charging Station

For environments such as a campus, warehouse, factory/shop floor, or a construction site with a WiFi network, the WP820’s PTT feature and key can prove to be very useful. A push of the PTT key turns the WP820 into a two-way radio Walkie Talkie. Without dialing a number the mobile WP820, users can establish voice communication instantaneously with each other. You can even record your voice call interactions as it incorporates an ad hoc call recording feature while you are on a voice call which can further aid in troubleshooting.  There is also an optional GMC08 battery charger that charges up to 8 WP820 batteries at one time (Fig. B)
For our discussion and functional testing, we will now consider the Grandstream portable WiFi phone WP820 in a WiFi environment. Primarily, we will check its functionality and interoperability with other vendor’s SIP platforms.
FUNCTIONAL TESTING

Fig. C. Home Screen

For the functional testing, we used two Grandstream Enterprise Portable WiFi Phone WP 820s running Firmware Version: 1.0.1.15, along with the following multi-vendor SIP environment:

• Public SIP trunk services;
• Patton SmartNode SN5570 Series eSBC (Enterprise Session Border Controller) running software version Trinity 3.13.1-18042 to provide SIP demarcation from the public SIP trunk provider while maintaining interoperability and interconnectivity;
• Plantronics Voyager Bluetooth Headset for hands free connectivity.

We inserted the Li-ion rechargeable battery into the WP820 and charged the WP820 using the accompanying charging station. Once turned on, the WP820’s color screen has some very useful indicators as shown in  Fig.C, including  battery status/charging, WiFi not enabled/configured, signal status, Bluetooth enabled/connected.

Fig. D. Menu Screen

We configured using the LCD Configuration Menu and the WP820’s keypad. For the initial setup of the phone from the home screen we selected the Menu soft key. It displayed an array of options (Fig.D) via a set of neatly laid out and easily accessible icons labeled as:

We proceeded to the Settings icon, selected Account, turned account activation ON, configured account details such as account name, SIP Server, SIP User ID, SIP authentication ID, SIP authentication password, voicemail access number etc. and saved the account settings. Navigating back we went to Network settings and set values for Preferred Internet Protocol (IPv4 only, IPv6 only, both, prefer IPv4), turned WiFi ON,and under WiFi settings (set up & manage WLAN) we selected the appropriate WiFi network and connected to it.
Selecting WiFi roaming mode gave us access to parameters such as signal threshold, good signal scan interval and poor signal scan interval. We turned Bluetooth ON. The Bluetooth setting has values for device name, and we turned ON “visible to nearby Bluetooth devices,” set the visibility timeout value, selected the appropriate Bluetooth device (Plantronics Voyager Bluetooth headset) and paired with it. Additional network settings were for Layer 3 SIP QoS and Layer 3 audio QoS values.
Further in the menu, we selected the Status icon, which we found to be a very useful function for any analysis or troubleshooting on the phone itself, as it showed us account status, the SIP account we setup showed as registered.  Network Status provided valuable insight and values such as the IPv4 address type DHCP, the current IPv4 address, Subnet mask, default router, DNS server 1, DNS server 2 etc. System info showed running memory used, storage status, MAC address of the phone, system version etc. Network Statistics displayed the Network SSID, BSSID, IP address, signal strength, connection speed, channel in use etc.
The WP 820 configuration was easy and straightforward for our testing. Very quickly, we had the WP820 operating as a SIP phone using the WiFi network. Referring to Fig. E, we were able to register with the public SIP trunk and successfully placed inbound/outbound calls from the WP820 phones through the Patton SmartNode SN5570 eSBC.

WP820 also has an embedded Web GUI. The well laid out web GUI (Fig.F) is a big plus and nicely complements the LCD configuration menu. It helped us navigate around in an impressively quick fashion.

Fig. F. WP820 Embedded Web GUI

Fig. G. Call Recording

Thanks to the web GUI and the LCD configuration menu on the phone, we had the WP820 up and running very quickly. The web GUI also offers a System Diagnosis feature, wherein it supports Syslog and traceroute functions, which facilitate extensive logging and reporting.
To test ad hoc call recording while on the call, we selected the Options soft key, which presented us with the ability to record the audio of the test call in progress (Fig.G). We were able to listen to the recording on the WP820 itself as well as access it through the WP820’s web GUI (Fig. H)

Fig. H.Call Recording GUI

Finally, we tested the powerful push-to-talk (PTT) feature of the WP820. Once we completed the PTT configuration, using the PTT button, we were able to establish a PTT session with the other WP820 phone as shown below in Fig.I

Fig I. WP820 PTT Functionality

The WP820 is very easy to deploy and administer. With the launch of the Enterprise Portable WiFi Phone WP820, Grandstream Networks has signaled that it wants a piece of the enterprise VoWiFi action as it aims to deliver an affordable technology to various market segments.
Conclusion
Especially as you move towards a converged enterprise WiFi implementation, we recommend that you take a closer look at Grandstream Networks’ Portable WiFi Phone WP 820.  It could perhaps help you meet your goals and expectations of mobility, functionality, audio quality, simplicity, and ease of use.  Get Grandstream Networks Portable WiFi Phone WP 820 and try it out in your own WiFi environment.  Our functional testing showed it to be a true plug and play solution in a multi-vendor SIP environment.