Voice over IP (VoIP) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Wi-Fi can allow many medium and larger companies to converge wired and wireless alternatives as a way to control costs, which with cellular can be high. The companies also want to add more control and management to communications and data systems that could be broken by too many different, incompatible systems, says Heather Howland of Ascendent Systems, a specialist in enterprise level voice mobility solutions. Cost savings is generally the first reason to converge, but the many features and abilities of solutions seal the deal, because a call can have full private branch exchange (PBX) functionality. Customers commenting on their solutions are spokespeople for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, Dana Automotive's Torque and Traction Division, and Crawford Communications of Atlanta, Georgia. Steve Shaw, director of marketing for Kineto Wireless, which develops UMA-compliant software, also notes the advantages of UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access), a proposed standard for mobile and Wi-Fi convergence that is backed by leading vendors Samsung, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, and others. UMA is significant to cellular carriers that want to offer last-mile connectivity and to extend phones to work over IP nets and broadband in the office. UMA also provides single-number connectivity across disparate network and handset platforms, and UMA means substantial cost-reductions to users because the technology uses less costly wireless routes.