The Hindu Business Line : Where the message finds you

As you try to accept the rising phone bills that arrive at your doorstep every month, be assured that in the near future the scene will change. In the other half of the world, already people are using intelligent phones that switch between the Internet and the telephone network so your bill works out to be much lesser.

All this is being made possible with fixed-to-mobile convergence or FMC.

FMC, in lay-speak, is the concept of cellular networks (such as Airtel and Hutch) integrating with the Internet's fixed line infrastructure (wires that bring the broadband into your home).

Basically, when FMC will set in, mobile users will be able to harness the power of broadband. This routing of phone calls through the Internet is known as voice over IP (Internet protocol). Broadband on mobiles can be useful for many purposes such as browsing the Web, e-mail, chatting, download and synchronising, but Voice over IP (VoIP) will be the killer application that kick-starts its use, according to industry sources.

VoIP is already quite popular, thanks to applications such as Skype that brought the message home to broadband users — phone calls for free.

Now, FMC might just be the big break cellular operators are waiting for. The trend has already begun in the other half of the globe with the UK telecom giant British Telecom's Fusion phone.

This device is FMC-compliant and is designed to automatically switch over from cellular signal to wireless Internet-enabled within your home. "When you walk into your home, your next-generation mobile will link to the wireless hub. The connection will change from a cellular call to Voice over IP," says Matt Bross, CTO, BT Group. Fusion is available to UK subscribers as part of the firm's next generation network programme.

NetspotSwing is a similar service being offered on CDMA (alternate to GSM) network in Korea. Currently this demand is in fast-technology-adopting countries such as Korea and the US, where subscribers have access to broadband.

No chasing messages

Besides a huge drop in costs of calls, there are other benefits that FMC could bring. Bross says UK individuals have less complexity in their lives with Fusion. The device harnesses the power of broadband Internet to perform advanced functions such as unified messaging and presence management. "You will no longer have to chase your messages around — checking voice mail at work, on the mobile and the answering machine at home. With converged messaging facility in Fusion, the message will find you," he says.

The convenience factor will also make it easier to handle multiple chores. Micro-payments and financial payments will also be available over the mobile once operators offer the FMC service. The quality of a call over a broadband Internet connection is also much better than that of a mobile-to-mobile connection.

"Jitter and latency do not hamper VoIP calls," says Bross. Hence once you step into your home, the chances of the signal dropping or poor reception go down.

Next generation handsets are already in production by many handset manufacturers. Jin-Sung Choi, Head, Mobile Communications Tech Research Lab, LG Electronics Inc, Korea, showcased two handsets that were FMC-compliant.

The primary purpose of all this hard work in integrating fixed and mobile networks is cost. Yes, it does come to the `Vitamin M' factor. VoIP calls cost much less than the cellular call. Especially with dropping broadband rates, thanks to packages such as those from BSNL and Reliance, the number of VoIP users in the country is rising.

In two years, India will see the dawn of FMC, calculates Jeffery Torrance, Vice-President,Fixed Mobile Convergence Solutions, CSR Plc, a UK-based WiFi chip maker. "You will be able to experience wireless VoIP at home and cellular on road then," he says.

preethij@thehindu.co.in

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