Operators talk fixed-mobile convergence

BT Group is spearheading a global telecommunications initiative aimed at promoting combined fixed-line and mobile services to both consumers and businesses.

The U.K. network operator, which announced a new fixed-mobile service in Britain last month, is in advanced talks to establish a global alliance of wireline and wireless operators eager to tap the market for convergent services, said Steve Andrews, chief of BT's mobility and convergence unit, Tuesday in a telephone interview.

"There are quite a number of operators -- both fixed and mobile -- that are interested in the alliance," Andrews said. "Fixed-mobile convergence is clearly on the roadmap of operators that want to create additional revenue streams from new value-added services."

The vision is for people to use one phone with one number, address book and voicemail bank, taking advantage of cheap, high-speed connectivity in their fixed-line home or office setting, while enjoying mobility outside in the wide-area cell phone network.

The vision also includes a "seamless" hand-over of calls between fixed-line and mobile networks.

"We see huge pent-up demand for simplicity," Andrews said.

Fixed-mobile convergence isn't an entirely new development. Several operators, including BT, have tested numerous systems over the past decade. One of the largest tests in the late 1990s involved DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), designed primarily for use in the home or office, and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).

DECT-GSM convergence never really took off, largely because users had to manually switch calls when moving from the DECT network into the GSM network or vise versa -- and that meant losing the call, according to Andrews. In addition, early converged handsets were bulky and expensive.

With its Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance, BT hopes to muster enough support among network operators and handset manufacturers to establish common technology standards and drive competition that could lead to high-quality, low-priced phones.

The development work will focus initially on 3G (third-generation) handsets with Bluetooth capability, according to Andrews. These phones will allow users at home or in the office to link to Bluetooth base stations with their fixed broadband connections, and to roam onto mobile networks when outside the Bluetooth footprint. Data speeds up to 700K bit/sec will be possible in the wireless Bluetooth cell, where calls could also be priced at normal fixed-line rates or lower, he said.

Bluetooth will be the technology of choice until 3G phones with Wi-Fi capability become available at prices comparable for high-end mobile phones, according to Andrews. "We don't expect to see high-end, well-priced handsets with Wi-Fi capability for another 18 months to two years," he said.

Although Bluetooth will continue to play a role after that, Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones will dominate the market, Andrews said. "Our development work will have a heavy focus on Wi-Fi," Andrews said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.