UMA Today Magazine: Beyond Voice Page 9

FALL 2008

UMA TODAY

Orange has commented that it expects to have 20

UMA-enabled devices in its portfolio by year-end 2008,
and T-Mobile is targeting the same. If successful, both
operators would have more than 25% of their handset
portfolio UMA-enabled. That's a far cry from the two
handsets both operators launched service with just last year.

THE RANKS SWELL

The past few months have

seen several new dual-mode offers launch and the ranks
of operators deploying UMA swell. The largest service
launch was Rogers Wireless in Canada. The company
rolled out TalkSpot,TM offering Canadians the choice of
unlimited local calling for $15C/month or unlimited
nationwide calling for $20C/month.

Roger's sister brand, Fido, also launched a nationwide

dual-mode service called UnoTM. For $15C/month,
subscribers get unlimited flat rate calling across Canada.

Both services are unique to Canada and represent the

market's first home zone service offers. No doubt this
will put pressure on Canada's other two mobile operators,
Telus and Bell Canada, both of whom operate CDMA
networks. Unfortunately for the operators, UMA-based
solutions for dual-modes or femtocells are not available
for CDMA-based networks.

Finally, since publishing the Fall 2008 issue, UMA Today

uncovered Ono, an alternative fixed, mobile, broadband
and cable provider in Spain. Ono launched its `oi' service
in late 2007. When at home, subscribers get unlimited
flat-rate calling to Spanish fixed lines and other Ono
mobile phones; calls to other mobile operators' lines are
billed at a flat 0.11/minute rate.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile is evolving the positioning of its

UMA-based service. Initially called "HotSpot@Home,"
T-Mobile has broadened the parameters and product
offerings to "Unlimited HotSpot Calling," as seen on the
web site www.theonlyphoneyouneed.com.

Lastly, rumors are flying that Orange will formally

launch its dual-mode service in the UK, called Unique.
While the service has been available for purchase online
and in some high-street shops, Orange has not put much
marketing muscle behind the launch, until now.

New Orange UK CEO Tom Alexander outlined his plans

for new services to come in the second half of 2008. While
there was no explicit mention of UMA, he highlighted a
new line of "totally connected" Orange products that is
in the works.

"Orange is an iconic brand, a great business, and we're

going to build on that success to become the best-loved
telecommunications company in Britain," said Alexander.

THE EVOLUTION OF UMA/GAN

The

3GPP GAN specification, the foundation of UMA-based
dual-mode services, has added functionality. Specifically
GAN now supports native 3G interfaces into the mobile
service core (circuit/packet services). By formalizing
this capability in the existing 3GPP standard, companies
providing UMA infrastructure can support 3G femtocells,
as well as native 3G connectivity into the mobile core.

With LTE on the horizon, it's clear that UMA/GAN

will need to continue to evolve to meet the requirements
of the industry's next general IP access network. And if
history is any indication, UMA/GAN will step up to meet
the industry's needs.

Ad for Fido's UMA-based dual-mode handset service