Royal Philips Electronics said Monday that it has created a reference design for phones that it says can seamlessly switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

The reference design, which is aimed at phone vendors, incorporates Philips chipsets with built-in Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology. UMA, which has been garnering interest from both GSM phone vendors and wireless operators, is a technology that automatically detects and can switch between GSM cellular networks and wireless LANs.

Once on the WLAN, calls seamlessly switch to voice-over-IP, Philips said. When the WLAN is out of range, the call seamlessly switches back to the cellular network.

Besides a built-in GSM radio, Philips said its design includes an 802.11g radio. The actual UMA switching capability is based on embedded software from Kineto Wireless, Philips said in a statement.

The reference design is available now to mobile phone vendors.