Our friends at Infonetics Research put out a press release last week that states that FMC phones made $27 billion in 2007. It is not a typo. So a bit of correction is in order.
I think Infonetics is referring to dual mode GSM/WiFi phones in general. Having a WiFi radio in a GSM phone does not make it a FMC phone. You would require a VCC or a UMA client to turn such a phone into a FMC phone. That is a requirement for a single number service. If you are content with two numbers on the same dual mode WiFi/GSM phone you would still be required to use some sort of a VoIP client for voice usage over WiFi. The two-number service is not really true FMC by the way.
A third possibility (also a single number service) would be bridging GGSN and VoIP server which is what MNOs in Europe are doing … essentially mapping MSISDN and IMSI numbers (3G phones can work here. You do not necessarily need a WiFi radio). It is a single number service but – again - as you walk away from WiFi into GSM cloud you will not have the active-session-handover capability. This again is not technically an FMC service.
I would categorize an FMC phone as the one that carries the active-session-handover-softclient on it: whether VCC or UMA. But then again, it would be just another application on the phone. It is like having a VoIP app on laptop. You can’t say we sold $100 billion VoIP laptops in 2007. Just a friendly clarification. Say hello to Michael. Regards. JR
Comments (2)
M5T offers today a thrue FMC GSM/WiFi SIP clients running on dual mode phones.
This enable one to use a single phone number and handover between WiFi and GSM depending on network conditions.
The "laptops" are sold now and the application is ready.
Posted by Philippe Babin | April 21, 2008 12:59 PM
Posted on April 21, 2008 12:59
The quote in the Infonetics press release says:
"The worldwide dual mode cellular/WiFi phone market hit $26.8B in 2007 and is forecast to nearly triple by 2011."
So yes, we mean the market as a whole. If there had been room in the press release, we may have also added our phone definitions to make it amply clear:
DUAL MODE CELLULAR/WIFI PHONES (includes dual service phones and seamless FMC phones): Phones with integrated cellular (GSM, CDMA, 3G) and WiFi (802.11) functionality and built-in VoIP capability; does not include accessories
DUAL SERVICE PHONES: Handover for roaming between WiFi and cellular networks is not enabled seamlessly
SEAMLESS FMC PHONES (includes UMA client phones and IMS client phones): Handover for roaming between WiFi and cellular networks is seamless, enabled by technologies such as UMA, VCC, or IMS
UMA CLIENT PHONES: Have integrated dual mode WiFi and cellular functionality and embedded UMA client
IMS CLIENT PHONES: Have integrated dual mode WiFi and cellular functionality and embedded IMS client
Posted by Kimberly Peinado | April 21, 2008 8:57 PM
Posted on April 21, 2008 20:57