cost-effective access solution that provides consumers with
high-quality, low-cost indoor mobile coverage."
well beyond the home. For enterprise IT departments,
service cost and performance continue to be the primary
UMA, operators can now approach enterprises with
value propositions that simply and directly address
these concerns.
whenever connected to an enterprise, home office or
hot spot Wi-Fi network. If developed correctly, the UMA
service offer could enable enterprises to save on overall
communications spending while providing additional
revenues to the operator.
over the last 12 months. As of September 2006, Vonage
Holdings alone had more than 2 million subscribers paying
between $15 and $25 per month for a telephone service
delivered over existing broadband access connections.
opportunity. A UMA-based fixed-line VoIP service is an
ideal approach for mobile operators looking to increase
FMS by directly capturing in-home fixed minutes of use.
UMA-enabled terminal adaptors allow mobile operators
to leverage their existing mobile core networks to deliver
a standard analog telephone service over any broadband
access network connection.
has become a standard part of everyday life, particularly
for international business travelers. In addition, many
travelers are beginning to utilize laptops and broadband
connections for the purpose of voice communications.
Rather than using mobile phones to make calls and pay
significant roaming fees, they are turning to PC-based
softphones and VoIP services when making international
calls. This represents a significant threat and opportunity
for mobile operators.
to provide UMA-enabled softmobile services. Imagine a
service where subscribers traveling abroad could
make inexpensive calls from their laptop whenever
connected to a hotel broadband connection or public
hotspot, while under the auspices of the home mobile
service provider.
FMC strategy, including Telecom Italia, France Telecom/
Orange, T-Mobile US and TeliaSonera. By providing a
well-defined interface for extending mobile voice, data
and IMS services over IP access networks, the 3GPP UMA
standard opens tremendous new service opportunities for
these and other mobile operators.
scalable, cost-effective IP-based
access infrastructure that can be
leveraged by femtocells in the same
manner as it is currently used by
dual-mode handsets.