24 operators gang up on FMC product requirements
Fixed-Mobile Convergence takes centre stage with the announcement that 24 leading telecommunications operators are members of the Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance (FMCA).
New to the FMCA are France Telecom, Telecom Italia, eircom, TeliaSonera, TDC Mobile and Optus, with an additional member who will be formally announced in September. FMCA membership now represents approximately 500 million customers who are set to benefit from the development of Convergence services.
With the FMCA as the solid foundation for sharing Convergence learning and experiences, FMCA members have already begun to launch Convergence services. BT launched the world’s first seamless Convergence service – BT Fusion – in June 2005. Korea Telecom’s OnePhone service has attracted over 100,000 customers within months of its commercial launch.
As additional FMCA Members prepare to trial or launch Convergence services, they can rely on knowledge generated by the FMCA’s six key Workstreams with input from well over 100 dedicated telecommunications professionals, in technical and commercial disciplines. The FMCA Workstreams are focused on Product Requirement Definitions, Handset Requirements, the strategic engagement of Standards Development Organisations, Market Research, the development of Value Propositions, the Customer Experience and the identification of Emerging Applications in Convergence.
The FMCA’s Handset Requirements Working Group continues to secure handset vendor commitment and is forecasting over 20 Convergence enabled dual mode Wi-Fi Cellular handsets due to be launched in 2006 by tier 1 handset vendors such as Motorola, Nokia and Samsung.
The FMCA’s Technical Working Group today publishes Release 1.0 of the FMCA Product Requirement Definitions. These are detailed technical papers centred on the key Convergence Technologies (Bluetooth CTP, Wi-Fi UMA and Wi-Fi SIP) that take the identified technical specifications to the level of detail required to produce a Convergence product.
“This substantial increase in FMCA membership, the support of the tier 1 handset vendors and the FMCA’s cooperative delivery of its product requirements is driving the rapid transition of Convergence to the mainstream of telecoms”, states Ryan Jarvis, Chairman of the FMCA and Chiefof Convergence Products at BT. As part of the phased evolution of its Product Requirement Definitions, the FMCA has engaged with leading Standards Development and Certification
Organisations. Release 1.0 of the FMCA Product requirements Definitions reflects input from the Wi-Fi Alliance which has been actively focused on the certification of Convergence products.
The FMCA has also engaged with 3GPPTM and ETSI-TISPAN to align the FMCA Product Requirement Definitions with these organisations’ standards and certification programmes. Release 2 of the FMCA’s Product Requirement Definitions is scheduled for March 2006. It should be noted that the FMCA is not a Standards Development Organisation. Its focus is on the
productisation of Convergence technologies. The FMCA Product Requirement Definitions, Release 1.0, can be downloaded
from FMCA’s website. (see link below)