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Fixed-Mobile Convergence - FMC
Overview
Disruptive Analysis has been following the evolution of FMC
for several years, having initially published research on "Multimode
Handsets" in 2003, and then "VoWLAN Business Models"
in 2005. Since then, interest in the sector has exploded, with huge variety of
sub-sectors, and implementation options emerging.
The table below gives highlights some of the key ways that
vendors and operators are moving towards FMC, along with some of the upsides and
downsides. For more detail on these, or to arrange an in-house
workshop, please contact
informationATdisruptive-analysis.com .
For a free white paper on Enterprise FMC, see below.
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FMC Type |
Positives |
Limitations |
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UMA-based
dualmode WiFi/cellular |
- Is engineered from the ground up around "seamless"
handover. This is both a positive and negative.
- Phones and semiconductors becoming available
- Standardised & now adopted by 3GPP as GAN
- Reasonable range of infrastructure providers
- Relatively cheap to deploy at first
- Possible usage cases for MVNOs
- Good, cellular-grade security and authentication
mechanisms. UMA may well be reincarnated as a security technology.
- Good way for operators to learn about FMC customer
experience, marketing proposition, support etc.
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- Limited and expensive range of handsets
- Not suitable for large enterprise
- Does not currently support 3G
- In practical deployment, requires operator-provided
gateway
- Could be blocked by broadband operator in the network
- Potential for huge customer service & support costs
- Assumes that usage over WLAN should give the same "user
experience" as over cellular - ie not intended for "bearer-aware"
applications
- Does not work well with multiple WLAN access points (no
standards for connection management software)
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IMS / VCC-based
dualmode WiFi/cellular (VCC = voice call continuity) |
- Based around a clear vision of future IMS-based
operator networks
- Significant levels of enthusiasm from major operators
- Exploits growing use of SIP in both handsets and
networks
- Wide range of equipment vendors supplying pre-standard
convergence solutions
- Some operators already skipping UMA and going straight
to pre-IMS dual-mode
- May be flexible enough to allow handset applications to
be "bearer aware"
- Will do "seamless" handover
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- No "full IMS" handsets
available yet; standardisation will
take some time.
- VCC standards incomplete
- Not obvious how interoperability with enterprise IP-PBX
systems will work. Mobile IP centrex is not the right answer here.
- May be dependent on uncertain timelines / success of
IMS rollout
- Uncertain dependencies on in-home infrastructure
(gateway, WLAN, PC etc)
- Hasn't yet got sufficient awareness to drive innovative
3rd-party developers etc.
- May suffer from UMA failure fallout
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Non-IMS
SIP-based dualmode |
- Less pre-occupation with "nice to have" seamless
handover
- Puts the customer (or a "challenger" service provider)
in control
- Takes advantage of the growing number of handsets with
"naked SIP" functionality
- Can work in the enterprise with PBX-integrated mobility
manager
- Should be suited for "least cost routing" applications
- Works OK in multi-access point environments
- Good solution for "challenger" operators like VoIP
providers, ISPs, broadband firms, foreign mobile operators etc
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- WiFi-enabled handsets still tend to be expensive, poor
on battery life, limited in numbers & expensive
- Difficult to do low-latency handover
- Installation, configuration & support headaches for
using 3rd-party software on phones
- Potential problems with user interface or application
blocking on handsets which have been operator-customised or locked
- Requirement for solution provider to focus efforts on
handset software development, integration, testing etc
- More difficult distribution / subsidy model for
handsets
- Will work best in markets/segments with low operator
involvement in handset supply
|
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Cellular
HomeZones (such as O2 Genion and Vodafone ZuHause) |
- Drives fixed-mobile substitution
- Possible to use dual numbers, fixed- and mobile
- Uses standard mobile numbers
- Homes still tend to want fixed connection for
broadband, and maybe IPTV in future
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- Works best in markets with low penetration of mobile
outbound calls.
- Low cost" cell radius may be very wide, driving
cannibalisation.
- Possible IPR issues
- May mean unacceptably high costs for inbound callers
- May need extra intelligence / infrastructure in the
network
- Opportunity for bundling with "naked DSL" looks
attractive if permitted
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Cellular
Picocells & Femtocells |
- Picocells already proven to work in niche usage cases
- Need fewer picocells to cover an area than WLAN APs
- Adds network capacity in-building as well as just
coverage
- Use normal cellphones rather than complex dual-mode
ones
- Can be backhauled with a cheap IP/ADSL connections
rather than a leased line
- Licensed spectrum so less risk of interference than
using WiFi
- Proliferating number of picocell vendors, silicon
suppliers, VARs / resellers and related switching / application providers
- Given a huge boost by recent Ofcom low-power spectrum
auctions in the UK
- May well be driven by requirements for indoor use of
HSDPA and UMTS
- Lots of interesting niche business cases
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- Sub-$500 "Femtocells" for residential services still at
prototype stage
- Possible complexities around spectrum management & RF
planning if there are 1000's of picocells in a city
- Complexity dealing with IT / facilities management
personnel on-site
- Security issues - is a picocell "genuine"?
- Enterprise PBX integration with cellular can be
difficult at a practical level
- Some signs that operators will need to deploy overlay
LANs
- May be problems with roaming agreements outside
buildings
- May require end-user to manually re-select networks on
handsets
- May be dependent on broadband provider
- Issues around gateway integration, support for
residential customers on IT issues etc
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Fixed +
Mobile service bundling |
- Much simpler than many FMC solutions
- Possible to gain good percentage of FMC financial
benefits (customer lock-in, new services, family plans etc) with little
technical investment
- Various enhancements like closed-user groups (call
Family mobiles for free, etc)
- No need for expensive/complex dual-mode phones or
on-handset custom software
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- Only really suitable for hybrid fixed+mobile carriers,
or MVNOs
- Doesn't improve indoor cellular coverage
- Limitations in future migration path (eg to IMS)
- May add complexity in sales / provisioning (eg
transitioning multiple family members from existing services & numbers)
- Possibly difficult to tie-in prepay subscribers
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VoIPo3G or
VoIPoWiMAX |
- Potential to replicate Skype or similar in the mobile
domain
- Decouples access from service provider, improving
competition & probably prices
- More spectrum becoming available
- Reduces need for WiFi in handsets
- Future coding schemes will improve radio resource
efficiency above circuit-switched voice
- May be used initially as a "second line" eg VoIP for
international calls
- Fits well with introduction of SIP-enabled handsets
- Likely to be embraced by operators in the long term
(probably CDMA first with RevA/B)
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- Data plans currently mitigate against use, especially
when roaming
- Heavily dependent on cell capacity for guaranteed QoS
- Poor indoor coverage, esp for WiMAX >2.5GHz
- Few phone-type devices at present (only PDAs)
- At present, very inefficient way of using radio
resource
- May be difficulties with handset integration (eg access
to codecs, echo cancellation etc)
- Very early days in terms of devices, use experience,
integration etc
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Enterprise FMC (& free white paper)
Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is now arriving for the
enterprise marketplace.
Whatever FMC actually is, that is. It has now joined the
long list of “buzzwords” that sound important, but which are actually far too
general and poorly-understood to be of much immediate relevance to enterprise
technology decision makers. “E-Commerce”, “Multimedia”, “Voice/data Convergence”
and “Enterprise Mobility” are all earlier examples of confusing
“paradigm-shifting” marketing-speak, which didn’t actually explain very much at
first. All of them ultimately turned out to be convenient “umbrella terms” for
clusters of important sub-trends and niche technologies.
FMC is the same. You can’t just “buy an FMC solution”, or
“implement an FMC strategy”. It is just a convenient catch-all term that relates
the linking of traditionally-separate cellular services, with the fixed/IP
universe. Often, WLAN is positioned as the “glue” which holds the two worlds
together, but other alternatives exist as well. In general, the emergence of FMC
represents the (belated) recognition that the communications world will never be
“all wireless” and especially not “all mobile”.
While the cellular world’s preferred acronym FMS
(Fixed-mobile substitution) still has some potential for growth in certain
areas, it runs into some severe practical deficiencies in the mainstream
corporate telephony sector, where fixed-line communications are deeply
entrenched, and increasingly integrated with IT systems.
To download a free white paper, which includes an analysis on both dual-mode
solutions and in-building cellular (especially the new UK-style low-power GSM
networks), click
here
(200KB).
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