02
UMA ToDAY
SPRING 2008
"THere Are So MAnY coMPAnieS TrYing To geT inTo
MY HoMe,"
is a cry being heard `round the world. In my San Jose, Calif.,
neighborhood, as in countless neighborhoods, the battle for telecom services in the
home has become a tough competition.
There are multiple competitive fixed-line providers looking to displace the
incumbent telco and cable operators for both voice service and video delivery.
And even as a loyal T-Mobile customer (HotSpot @Home of course!), I am
tempted by the challengers iPhone on AT&T, Sprint's femtocells and V-Cast from
Verizon Wireless.
Vincent Poulbere, principal analyst in Ovum's consumer practice research division,
estimates that 30-40% of mobile phone usage happens in-building (home or
office). Yet, mobile operators are hampered in their quest to `own the home' by
service-delivery costs and unreliable indoor mobile performance. As Stuart Carlaw,
wireless research director at ABI Research, has said, "We've got to remember that
for the carrier, the most inhospitable situation is inside the home."
Enter Home Zone 2.0, the next generation of home zone services designed to
give the mobile operator the edge. By using low power, indoor radios (femtocells,
Wi-Fi) and backhauling traffic over the broadband IP network, mobile operators are
now in the perfect position to win the `battle for the home.'
In this issue, we explore how UMA has become the 3GPP standard technology
for delivering Home Zone 2.0 services and the opportunities for mobile operators
to own the home with next generation home zone services (see p. 16). But it's not
just about technology. On page 24, we analyze best practices in marketing dual-
mode handset and femtocell-based Home Zone 2.0 services.
Our guest analyst (p. 35), Mr. Poulbere, discusses the business case for femtocell
deployments and reinforces the need for a strong `go-to-market' strategy.
Finally, with an eye to the future, UMA Today interviews Kineto's technology
Vice President Patrick Tao about UMA's role in the next generate LTE radio access
network (p. 20).
UMA Today Innovation Awards: At press time, the green light was given on
the UMA Innovation Awards 2008. As a testament to the continued growth of the
UMA market, Orange agreed to sponsor the program. Many thanks to Orange. To
learn more, visit www.UMAToday.com.
Steve Shaw
Editor, UMA Today
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Editorial
Editor-in-Chief: Steven Shaw
Executive Editor: Abbe Solomon
Design Director: Collin Stone, COGNEO
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