Digital Lifescapes

Operators are now rolling out converged services on fixed and mobile networks, converting trials to commercial deployments. 2008 will see another spate of trials, as femtocell technology begins to become available. The move to FMC infrastructure is a natural evolution for the mobile network as broadband services, including Voice over IP and other Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) services, begin to be deployed. Both Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) and SIP infrastructures are being deployed and dual use Wi-Fi and cellular devices will be joined by femtocells in 2008. According to a new ABI Research report, operators are fully aware of the increasing threat from mobile VoIP services and FMC will allow them to offer similar services and tariff packages. "As we move to the end of the decade, mobile networks will emerge with a flat all-IP architecture using 3GPP standards to deliver multimedia services and VoIP," says principal analyst Ian Cox. In the meantime operators want to off...

IP Networks deployed by fixed and mobile operators will lead to mainstream Voice over IP and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) services, driven by the increasing popularity of smart devices such as PDAs and smartphones. ABI Research principal analyst Ian Cox explains, "New affordable price points and ease of use will allow consumers to benefit from SIP services such as instant messaging, video sharing, and conferencing, which will join VoIP as it takes over from circuit-switched voice." Cox adds, "We have seen the start of a revolution, as mobile handsets become the product of choice not just for voice and simple text messaging, but also for any task that one can perform on a personal computer. And as networks are replaced by flat architecture all-IP with SIP application servers in the core, all forms of communications become possible. SIP services will develop into the norm after 2010 and rapidly begin to dominate the world's telecom markets. By 2012, almost half of...