With fixed-to-mobile convergence underway and fixed and mobile services set to converge, the question in the industry is who will have absolute power in the telecommunications world - fixed providers or mobile carriers?
The debate is not only on who is likely to win and will implement the business models to support their strategies but on also, which technologies are available to support these new services.
Fixed mobile convergence (FMC) is a boon to mobile carriers as it enables them to continue their fixed-to-mobile substitution. FMC allows users to connect to Wi-Fi networks, countering issues such as, poor indoor coverage and it also offers mobile carriers the chance to charge less compared to voice calls.
Fixed line providers also benefit from FMC as they aim to reduce fixed-to-mobile substitution. This is possible when fixed line operators enable users to connect to public hotspots on a dual-mode client device, thereby overcoming the mobility factor.
"In the battle for dominance in the communications industry, mobile carriers fear that converged solutions could have a negative impact on their voice revenues," notes Frost & Sullivan senior telecoms analyst, Luke Thomas. "This has forced them to thus opt for unlicensed mobile access (UMA) technology; fixed-line providers have, on the other hand, chosen an Internet Protocol for multimedia subsystems (IMS) session initiation protocol (SIP)-centric approach."
UMA is a legacy-based solution for service providers of GSM and creates a back tunnel to applications that are running on their core network. An IMS SIP-centric approach enables both voice and data applications to run over Internet Protocol (IP), rather than locking it onto the mobile carriers' legacy networks.
Though UMA initially did not support SIP, today both SIP and IMS can be deployed on top of UMA. The use of SIP over UMA is plausible as a short-term solution, since UMA is part of the access network and independent of IMS, thereby being incapable of providing a full-fledged IP solution.
Although using UMA dual-mode handsets in connecting to a Wi-Fi network offers users a differentiated service, it would not attract customers if it was not cheaper than a voice call. In addition, enterprises have always preferred to bypass the mobile network and reduce costs by connecting converged Wi-Fi/cellular client devices to their corporate wireless local area network (WLAN).
The IMS SIP-centric approach provided by many participants leverages the principle of separating control and media. This means that the voice media does not have to be hair-pinned between the enterprise and carrier networks, thus eliminating costly access capacity.
"Another threat to UMA is that all participants view IMS type services as the 'end game' and UMA as a convergence transition technology from 2G to IMS, so as to strategically position itself to the dynamic technological environment surrounding them," according to Thomas. "Furthermore, such a transition to an IMS SIP-based approach is explicitly stated in the Product Requirements document recently issued by fixed-mobile convergence alliance (FMCA) for SIP/Wi-Fi Interoperability."
An IMS-SIP-centric focus can drive genuine sources of new customers and transfer of application and services spend from non-converged services providers to converged services providers.
In addition, mobile operators' control over their market is diminishing with the emergence of new technologies and IMS applications. These pose a threat as they enable new market entrants such as wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) to target a previously untapped segment or one that proved difficult for mobile operators competitively. SIP also permits convergence, is compatible with 3G and provides flexibility for developing various solutions for enterprises and for these reasons, IMS SIP-based solutions are likely to take over where UMA left off.
The virtual brochure: 'Is UMA the Answer to Convergence?' is available from Srividhya Parthasarathy, sparthasarathy@frost.com
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