Abstract
The GSM Association is to test out a carrier ENUM service, which the trade body says will make it easier to send IMs, MMS, emails, videos and any other IP content between mobiles and fixed line phones, as well as mobile-to-mobile transmissions. The pilot will start in 2008, with the aim of going live with a full commercial service later on this year. The GSMA says four operators will be involved in the trial: Bharti Airtel, mobilkom austria, Telekom Austria and Telenor. Is this the next step in FMC? A brand new report, just published, examines the future of FMC and which technological formats will triumph.
Fixed operators already fully understand the threat of mobile VoIP. The UK will see fixed call rates outstripped by mobile, and Europe is following the same trend. They know that FMC can allow them to deliver similar services and tariffs. Are you capturing the market share you need to? This report will help you.
As VoIP and SIP are deployed, the natural progression to FMC infrastructure for mobile networks is clear. The most well known UMA service is represented by dual mode cellular or Wi-Fi handsets and other services are entering the market, including femtocells which will be both complimentary and competitive to FMC. Home consumers are open to the technology if it greatly improves their mobile phone voice quality and provides the necessary coverage. But research has found that consumers are resistant to buying, installing, and adding yet another device.
With the GSM mobile operator able to offer fully converged connectivity using your existing core networks, subscribers will seamlessly roam from your cellular network to a WLAN, maintaining the call as they move from one to the other. As cellular operators increase the variety of services and applications they offer to their customers the issue of in-building coverage increases in significance.
Both dual-mode handsets and home base-stations will be used by operators to enable them fulfil their strategies. Operators in the FMC market have produced FMC services on differing technologies. Main players include operators BT, Orange and TeliaSonera have produced UMA services. Players such as Telecom Italia and O2 Germany have produced FMC services but have stayed away from UMA. Operators and vendors alike will have to decide if UMA is the way forward for FMC, or if the technology is old and out dated. Hear independent opinion today.
Reading this exclusive management report will tell you the following:
- Who are the main players in FMC and what are they doing?
- What are the forms of convergence and which forms of convergence will give operators and vendors the best strategy for the future?
- How successful will FMC be?
- What role will quad play have in the future of FMC?
- What are the drivers and barriers to FMC?
- What are the main competitors to FMC?
Find out the answers to these and many other questions by buying this vital industry insight.
FMC has had a mixed response and operators need to know the market conditions when developing their FMC services and this report will give a detailed analysis of the current findings of FMC services world wide. Are you involved in FMC services? Should you be? Have you identified the best path to market with these services? This report will help you decide the right direction to take in the FMC market.
This report will also tell you what kind of a market there is to build on for FMC services and what kind of convergence is the better strategy for operators and vendors alike.
Why you need to order this report today:
- Brands/Marketers- Discover what opportunities exist in the FMC market and what the best strategies are in this space. Learn about market issues specifically related to fixed and mobile issues including technology, media types, demographics, past and present service popularity, subscriber receptivity and trends.
- Mobile operators- Gain an insight into the issues affecting FMC and where revenues can be derived from this opportunity. Discover adoption and usage of new technology and services, as well as market size data. Obtain analysis of the key market participants and their products and services.
- Fixed operators- Gain an insight in to the market and issues regarding FMC and what steps need to be taken by fixed operators to counter falling voice minutes. Discover the best use that can be made of the technology available and which areas of the market should be targeted.
- Vendors- Should vendors be pushing for Wi-Fi enabled services? Will UMA be the future or do consumers feel that the technology is outdated and irrelevant to them? Learn whether VoIP capabilities will be the next killer app on handsets and if this will push UMA out of the market, and what role will SIP and femtocells have to play in the future of FMC. Also, which handsets gain the best market traction in FMC?
With mobile penetration reaching 100 per cent in many developed markets, the mobile phone will soon be in virtually everyone' s pocket. Fixed to mobile substitution is both an active threat and opportunity to fixed and mobile operators. Do you understand this market? Do you know how it will develop? Is this an issue that you need to act on and find out about now?
Who needs to read this report?
Directors, VP and Senior managers in:
- Mobile/ Cellular carriers and operators
- UMA service developers
- Handset manufacturers
- Fixed line operators
Table of Contents
Chapter - 1
1. Introduction
- 1.1 Executive summary
- Figure 1: Benefits of convergence for consumers
- Chart 1: BT traditional and new wave revenue growth
- 1.2 What is Convergence?
- 1.3 Focus of this report
Chapter - 2
2. Fixed to mobile substitution
- 2.1 An increasingly mobile world
- Chart 2: Global mobile vs. fixed line growth
- Chart 3: Mobile only households in Europe
- Chart 4: Opinion of the main benefits of mobile phones within the EU 27
- Chart 5: Telephony access in the UK, France, Germany and Italy
- 2.1.1 Defining substitution
- Chart 6: World mobile subscribers
- Table 1: Mobile only access in EU 27
- Chart 7: EU 25 telephony access chart
- 2.2 Fixed and mobile traffic trends
- 2.2.1 VoIP impact in the fixed and mobile trend
- 2.2.2 Geographical trends
- 2.2.3 Long distinct and the US experience
- Chart 8: International call minutes from the UK
- 2.3 Revenues are shifting towards mobile networks
- 2.4 Fixed-to-mobile substitution drivers
- Chart 9: Wireline growth 9 month YoY 2006-2007
- Chart 10: Wireline growth Q3 2006-2007
- Chart 11: Fixed and mobile penetration in UK homes
- 2.5 Bundling
- 2.5.1 Bundled service packages: Mobile operators
- 2.5.1.1 Drivers and benefits of service bundles
- 2.5.1.2 Integrating Wi-Fi with WWAN
- 2.5.1 Bundled service packages: Mobile operators
- 2.6 Barriers to displacement
- 2.7 Is mobile traffic competitive or complementary to wireline?
- 2.8 Attitudes and preferences of enterprise users
- 2.9 Price competition
- 2.10 Case study: BT Fusion Mobile UK
- 2.10.1 BT attempts to fight fixed-to-mobile substitution with convergence phone
- 2.10.2 The pros and cons of BT' s strategy
- 2.10.2.3 The positives
- 2.10.2.4 The weaknesses
- Chart 12: BT market share of international calls 2005-2007
- 2.10.2.5 Market impact
- 2.11 Fixed-line operator strategies for countering falling
revenues
- 2.11.2 Deploying internet services
- 2.11.3 Flat rate offers
- 2.11.4 Bundled service packages
- 2.11.5 New handset designs and applications
- 2.11.6 Exploiting indoor cellular shortcomings
- 2.11.7 Full service integration
Chapter - 3
3. Fixed/mobile convergence
- Table 2 UMA handsets
- 3.1 Different forms of convergence
- 3.1.1 Full convergence
- 3.2 Drivers of convergence
- 3.2.1 Boosting voice usage
- 3.2.2 Differentiation
- 3.2.3 Mobile market entry
- Figure 2: Drivers and barriers to convergence
- 3.2.4 CapEx and OpEx savings
- 3.2.5 Broadband and WLAN growth
- 3.2.6 Demand side drivers
- 3.3 Barriers
- 3.3.1 Technology
- 3.3.2 Handsets
- 3.3.3 Regulatory environment
- 3.3.4 Incumbent dominance and organisational structures
- 3.3.5 End-user inertia
- 3.3.6 Declining mobile costs
- 3.4 Convergence will increase the battle for customer ownership
- 3.5 Voice and data integration
- 3.5.1 Converged services
- 3.6 How fixed/mobile convergence works
- 3.7 Implementing FMC services
- Chart 13: North America mobile subscribers
- 3.8 Early incarnations of FMC
- 3.8.1 TDC' s Duet
- 3.8.2 BT' s Onephone
- 3.8.3 Dual mode DECT/GSM handsets
- 3.8.4 O2 Genion
- 3.9 The FMCA initiative
- 3.10 Mobile handset convenience over the fixed network
- 3.11 Is there demand for FMC?
- 3.11.1 Strong signals for FMC among corporates
- 3.11.2 Lack of FMC success in the UK
- 3.12 Access technologies Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Wimax
- 3.13 The impact of VoIP
- 3.13.1 VoIP as an enabler of convergence
- 3.13.2 VoIP and applications convergence
- 3.13.3 VoIP enables new entrants to compete
- 3.13.4 VoIP will help fixed telecos fight against substitution
- 3.14 Chapter conclusions
Chapter - 4
4. Convergence phone analysis
- 4.1 Convergence phone overview
- 4.2 Operational structure
- 4.2.1 Telecom Italia
- 4.2.2 France Telecom
- 4.2.3 BT
- 4.3 The Unica service
- Chart 14: Telecom Italia fixed and mobile connections in Italy 9 month YOY comparison
- 4.3.1 Telecom Italia Unica
- 4.3.1.1 A positive start
- 4.3.1.2 Subscriptions capped
- 4.3.1.3 Target markets
- 4.3.1.4 Recent company developments
- 4.3.1.5 Company initiatives
- 4.3.1.6 Competitive environment
- 4.3.1.6.1 Substitution in Europe
- 4.3.6.1.2 Mobile call termination rates
- 4.3.1.7 Vodafone
- 4.3.1.8 Lack of broadband penetration
- 4.3.1.9 The case for further convergence for Telecom Italia
- 4.4 France Telecom/Orange Unique/Unik
- 4.4.1 How it works
- 4.4.3 Limitations of device
- 4.4.4 Target markets
- 4.4.5 Market impact
- 4.4.6 Company initiatives
- 4.3.1.6 Competitive environment
- 4.3.1.6.1 Substitution in Europe
- 4.3.6.1.2 Mobile call termination rates
- 4.3.7.1 Vodafone
- 4.3.8.1 Lack of broadband penetration
- 4.3.1.9 The case for further convergence for Telecom Italia
- 4.3.1.6 Competitive environment
- 4.4 France Telecom/Orange Unik/Unique
- 4.4.1 How it works
- 4.4.2 Limitations of device
- 4.4.3 Target markets
- 4.4.4 Market impact
- 4.4.5 Company initiatives
- 4.5 UMA
- 4.5.1 How UMA works
- Table 2: UMA operators
- Figure 3: How UMA works
- 4.5.2 Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/cellular hand-over
- 4.5.3 UMA standardisation is critical for FMC success
- 4.5.4 The role of the FMCA
- Table 3: FMCA members
- 4.5.5 FMCA' s strengths and weaknesses
- 4.5.6 Interoperability
- 4.5.7 Competition for the future of UMA
- 4.5.1 How UMA works
- 4.6 Femtocells
- 4.7 BT Office Anywhere
- Chart 15: BT year end revenue 2000-2006
- Chart 16: New wave as % of BT' s total revenue
- 4.7.1 Competitive acumen of BT Office Anywhere
- 4.7.2 Target market
- 4.7.3.1 “New wave”
- 4.8 UMA handsets
- 4.8.1 Motorola
- 4.8.2 Ericsson
- 4.9 Device convergence
- 4.9.1 Nokia N800
- 4.9.2 Nokia N95 vs. the iPhone
- 4.9.3 Recent developments in Nokia
- 4.9.3.1 Collaboration with Telecom Italia
- 4.9.3.2 Nokia trials with O2' s digital wallets
- 4.10 Skypephone
- 4.11 Convergence goals
- 4.12 The end point of convergence plans
- 4.13 Business and enterprise users
- 4.14 Mobile professionals over 45
- 4.15 Consumers
- 4.16 Youth market (young adults and children)
- 4.17 Issues to consider and hurdles to overcome
- 4.18 Quad play
- 4.19 Broadband penetration
- 4.20 Billing
- 4.21 Regulatory hurdles
- 4.22 Marketing convergence
- 4.23 Lessons from Fusion Mobile
- 4.24 Ann phone service
- 4.25 Other global FMCA initiatives
- 4.26 Forecasts
- Table 4: SWOTs of a selection of convergence phones from Europe and US
Chapter - 5
5. Conclusions and recommendations
- 5.1 Fixed and mobile operators recommendations
- 5.2 Vendor recommendations
- 5.3 Enterprise recommendations
