LG Electronics and Samsung said Tuesday they will release phones that use Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology to seamlessly transfer between GSM-based cellular networks and Wi-Fi. The Korean vendors both said it would use UMA technology from Kineto Wireless for their phones. Specifically, they said they will use client handset software from Kineto in future phones. However, the companies did not provide any details about which phones would have the convergence capabilities or when they would be released.

UMA is a standards-based approach that promises seamless handoffs between the two different types of networks. That would enable, for instance, a call being conducted over a cellular network to automatically switch to VoIP over a WLAN. It is designed to work only with GSM systems, not CDMA networks such as those run by Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the U.S.