Fixed Mobile Convergence: Buzzword Or Business?
In-Stat says business. Maybe:
The benefits of seamless roaming between wireline and wireless networks is gaining steam, but many challenges remain before Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) is widely deployed, reports In-Stat (www.in-stat.com). Chief among these challenges is finding a compelling business case for most wireless carriers, who view FMC as a contra-revenue threat, the high-tech market research firm says.
"This is clearly the case in the US, with the exception of T-Mobile, which has primarily been focused on the consumer market," says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst. "In-Stat believes communications industry leaders will not be dissuaded by lagging felt need for FMC solutions by businesses, and will aim to develop compelling solutions that, once experienced, will lead to viral adoption over the next several years."
We’ve been hearing about fixed mobile convergence for what seems like forever, but is it really going to take off among consumers? Intuitively, it sounds like a natural progression, but in practice, it’s taking an awfully long time to get off the ground.
Fred Palacios commented:
During the period of the next ten years while FMC goes from being
ten ways to do something to two or three, there will be the need
for transitional technology to facilitate and/or increase the cost
effectiveness of whatever your FMC looks like today while being
adaptable to future requirements. Cellular Gateways is an excellent
example of transitional technology. It is PBX agnostic and, once
Verizon and Sprint get their act together, carrier agnostic. Until
then, advantage at&t and T-Mobile, a fact that has not escaped
them. For the end user, reductions in paid pooled minutes of 30% or
more while enhancing emergency response/disaster recovery plans
along with increased productivity and enhanced customer
interaction. The saturated cellular industry gets an untapped
source of new line activations and a reduction of churn rate (they
now have equipment residing one level deeper in the client's
telecom network). Finally, the phone system vendor gets a new sale
to an existing client or to a new client. Fred Palacios Director of
Sales ITS Telecom fredp@itstelecomusa.com
Fred Palacios commented:
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