Fixed mobile convergence still struggles to gain traction

SCOTTSDALE, USA: Fixed mobile convergence (FMC), the transparent and seamless hand-off of active voice calls between cellular and Wi-Fi networks using a dual-mode phone, can be a powerful enabling tool for businesses, reports In-Stat.

FMC provides a viable bridge to address the gap between legacy wireline capabilities, wireless networks, cellular services, as well as evolving VoIP and unified communications capabilities. But the technologies driving FMC applications have developed more quickly than business end-user interest.

“A wide sweep of industry announcements trumpeting FMC capabilities have been made in 2009, however, our analysis shows only moderate increases in actual use, or planned use, of most applications,” says David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst.

“IT managers, service providers and integrators may have a good understanding of FMC’s benefits, but until workers actually use its capabilities, the benefits will go unrealized.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
* Business FMC handset connections will jump from 5.8 million in 2009 to 31 million by 2013.
* 19 percent of businesses with Wi-Fi capability use voice over Wi-Fi.
* The ability to seamlessly roam between wireline and wireless networks carries more importance among business users than other FMC solutions, but all FMC solutions remain in a relatively nascent state.