Prediction-- Within five years, you will be able to make free wireless calls in major cities. No cell plan. No contracts. This service will be very practical; not a hacker gimic.
Why do I predict this-- two things. Google Voice and the plethora of free wireless internet hotspots.
Google voice is a VOIP service from Google. I tried it out because it lets me call home, to Canada, for free.
Even better, through Google voice I can get a phone number for free.
The service works very well. I've called many times now. The call quality is excellent. Setup was simple, I just had to plug a headset into my laptop and install the Google Voice plug-in for my browser.
On to free wireless hot spots. I use the internet regularly on my cell, yet I don't have a data plan. Open 802.11. A/B/G/N endpoints are very common. Of course work and home are covered. Bout, out in the street, I seldom have to walk more than one hundred feet to find one. Granted, these tend to be unintentionally open Linksys routers with the default password. Still, many places intentionally offer free wireless access--- coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, library's, malls. I'm not talking about crappy low speed access. I'm talking high quality, high speed access.
If you combine these two ideas-- free VOIP and free internet access, you get free wireless phone service. A combination that works today. Give it a few years to smooth out the internet coverage and this will become common.
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