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Did FMC phones make $27 billion in 2007?

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.

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

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