BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - July 24, 2007) - 3G Americas has published a white paper
entitled "Fixed-Mobile Convergence: Understanding the Marriage of Wireless
and Wireline Technologies" that outlines a complex and multi-faceted
technological trend promising great changes to the way customers utilize
communications services. The paper highlights how Fixed-Mobile Convergence
(FMC) should seamlessly deliver personalized communications services to
devices using whatever network is most appropriate.
Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas, stated, "The promise of
Fixed-Mobile Convergence is huge and the impact on the industry, and most
importantly the end-user, will be nothing short of revolutionary." He
added, "The recipe for converged service is available today, with key
ingredients in place such as ubiquitous broadband access and advanced
cellular networks, coupled with enhanced core network architecture."
3G Americas' white paper, "Fixed-Mobile Convergence: Understanding the
Marriage of Wireless and Wireline Technologies," details the motivation and
key market drivers for FMC, the current industry landscape, operator
segmentation, standardization work, service requirements, and challenges
and obstacles of migrating towards a service goal that, by its very nature,
necessitates a new value chain, market structure and a different way of
defining end-user subscriber value. The paper covers these topics from
multiple industry stakeholder angles, and provides significant information
on the promising future of Fixed Mobile Convergence to all players in this
new converged value chain.
Stuart Carlaw, Research Director Wireless for ABI Research, stated, "By
2012 the total number of fixed mobile subscribers is predicted to reach 271
million. Femtocell based solutions are forecast to account for 56% of the
total, with 24% and 20% respectively for UMA and VCC/SIP. 2007 and 2008
represent the incubation period for what is expected to be a rapidly
growing market which will hit its inflection point in 2009."
The white paper reviews the technologies that are critical to enabling a
converged services environment, among them SIP, Voice over IP (VoIP), IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), and fixed and
wireless broadband. As technology enablers such as UMTS/HSPA are deployed,
the full benefit of FMC can be leveraged by both operators and their
subscribers.
Pearson commented, "FMC is driven by subscriber needs coupled with
operational efficiencies created by network modernization. After years of
standards work, it is exciting for the industry to finally see commercial
FMC applications deployed for the benefit of subscribers in the market such
as T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home service launched in June."
Download a free copy of "
Fixed-Mobile Convergence: Understanding the Marriage of Wireless and
Wireline Technologies" at the 3G Americas' website,
www.3gamericas.org.
About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology
The mission of 3G Americas is to promote and facilitate the seamless
deployment throughout the Americas of GSM and its evolution to 3G and
beyond. The organization fully supports the Third Generation (3G)
technology migration strategy to EDGE and UMTS/HSPA adopted by many
operators in the Americas. The GSM family of technologies accounts for 85%
of wireless mobile customers worldwide. 3G Americas is headquartered in
Bellevue, WA with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas,
TX. For more information, visit our website at
www.3gamericas.org.
About ABI Research
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains
global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence
services and market reports in broadband and multimedia, RFID &
contactless, M2M, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation,
and emerging technologies. Within wireless connectivity, their Fixed
Mobile Convergence Research Service addresses the following key issues:
-- What is driving fixed and mobile operators to deploy FMC.
-- How fast fixed mobile convergence services will be adopted and Why.
-- How UMA, SiP or Femtocells will become the standard technology of
choice to support FMC.
-- The role IMS has to play in FMC.
-- For more information visit:
http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Fixed-
Mobile_Convergence_Research_Service or call +1-516-624-2500
Contact Information: Contact:
Vicki Livingston
+1 262 242 3458