FMC Picks Up Steam

Although the number of handsets combining Wi-Fi and cellular access continues to climb, there's still work to be done.

By Brad Smith March 1, 2007 Wireless Week

Worldwide, the number of dual-mode, Wi-Fi/cellular phones has accelerated quickly, and most telecom operators – both fixed and mobile – are expected to have some kind of dual-mode strategy this decade. But this one-phone-fits-all scenario presents opportunities as well as challenges. The Wi-Fi Alliance said recently it has certified almost 100 Wi-Fi phone models; the lion's share (82) of those devices has dual-mode capability. ABI Research forecasts there will be 325 million dual-mode handsets sold by 2011. Infonetics Research forecasts a 198% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in Wi-Fi/cellular handset shipments between 2006 and 2010. "Users are demanding single-number, single-device services, and operators like T-Mobile USA announced converged services based on Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) in 2006," says Infonetics analyst Richard Webb. He calls UMA, a GSM protocol, a leading-edge technology for fixed mobile convergence (FMC). Another study, by BBDO Consulting, predicts about two-thirds of the fixed and mobile operators globally will implement FMC over the next three years. T-Mobile USA started testing dual-mode handsets using the UMA protocols last year in Seattle, aiming at the consumer. The product, called HotSpot@Home, lets subscribers make calls on one phone from their home, the T-Mobile HotSpots or any other public Wi-Fi location. Tole Hart, research director for Gartner, says T-Mobile USA's entry into the FMC market is expected to be just the first in a line. He points out that Sprint Nextel, with its joint venture with cable companies, is planning a similar offering. TARGETING ENTERPRISE Although these FMC products may be targeting the consumer, others are clearly chasing after the enterprise. But businesses have more stringent requirements when it comes to their employees and networks. Enterprises are looking at FMC to allow employees to use the same phone inside and outside the office. Security is one of the issues enterprises face with dual-mode handsets, especially if the employee is using a VPN connection and moves between the Wi-Fi and the cellular networks. That's not vital if the employee is using the phone only for voice, but it becomes tricky if data is involved. The VPN connection normally breaks down when the transfer is made. An IP address is used when a data connection is made, even on a phone, but that IP address is static, according to Rick Pitz, product manager for Certicom. When the network changes, so does the IP address and the VPN is lost. The only alternative is to re-establish a new VPN connection. PANOPLY OF PLAYERS Certicom recently introduced a toolkit called Security Builder IPSec 3.0, which can be used by device manufacturers to make it possible to seamlessly roam between Wi-Fi and cellular networks without dropping the VPN connection. The toolkit uses an Internet Engineering Task Force technology called MOBIKE, which maintains a secure VPN connection when the handset moves across networks. It also uses mobile IP. The new technology supports most handset operating systems as well as gateways from Alcatel Lucent, Checkpoint, Cisco and Nortel. Outsmart Ltd., an Israeli company, also demonstrated its dual-mode handoff product at last month's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. Outsmart's Centrex2Mobile technology enables handoffs between Wi-Fi and either GSM or CDMA networks. It uses BroadSoft's BroadWorks Mobile PBX VoIP application and is intended for enterprises. Centrex2Mobile and BroadWorks can be used today to automatically switch calls from one network to the other. Outsmart says it also can be used when carriers start deploying IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) technology in their networks. Another option showcased at 3GSM was a collaboration between Ericsson and Telepo. Ericsson licensed Telepo's technology for its Enterprise Mobility Gateway, which Ericsson expects fixed and mobile operators can use to integrate enterprise services. Telepo's technology can be used to enable FMC for a wide range of devices, including phones, softphones on PCs, VoIP clients and IP phones. The company says enterprise employees can use their mobile phones to access typical PBX functions such as conference calling and call forwarding. Motorola recently made an investment, through Motorola Ventures, in FMC company Tango Networks. Tango has technology similar to Telepo, enabling PBX functions on cell phones. Other companies working in this area are Avaya, Kineto and NewStep, as well as infrastructure manufacturers Nokia and Nortel. With the growth in the dual-mode handset market, there seems to be a growing opportunity for them all.