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T-Mobile USA partners with Meru on FMC technology
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T-Mobile USA and WLAN vendor Meru Networks agreed to a partnership to bring fixed mobile convergence (FMC) technology to enterprise customers by using unlicensed mobile access (UMA) technology, which the carrier said will allow T-Mobile customers to seamelessly transition between outdoor wireless infrastructure and indoor WiFi networks.
The companies have conducted tests with UMA-equipped T-Mobile devices to ensure what they described as a seamless handoff between Meru's WLAN networks and T-Mobile's cellular network for GSM/GPRS devices. The two also said that they will conduct joint marketing and sales for the program. T-Mobile also said that it had joined Meru's Interoperability and Network Solutions partner program.
T-Mobile said in a statement that it was the first carrier to use FMC to target the enterprise segment and that it was also the first to use UMA technology. The carrier said it had dual-mode devices that leverage the technology from vendors such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Nokia and Samsung.
It is unclear what the future of FMC will be, especially with the rising popularity of femtocells, which act as indoor base stations, extending an operator's cellular network. Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility appear to be jumping on the femtocell bandwagon, with new product offerings having launched or being close to launch.
For more:
- see this article
- see this release
Related Articles:
T-Mobile USA expected to roll out FMC nationwide
Will femtocells sweep WiFi on the FMC front?
Comments
Posted by Anonymous | January 27, 2009 - 8:00pm
you have your acronyms wrong, UMA is UNLICENSED Mobile Access, you state that it is Licensed.
I was a T-Mobile Dealer......
Posted by Robert Duncan | January 29, 2009 - 12:02pm
UMA is attractive now-at Home and in the Enterprise-and Femtocells will eventually dominate.
UMA works over existing, enterprise WLANs and T-Mobile is clearly working to certify solutions and show that "the water is just fine" so that enterprises can safely jump in.
The main disadvantage of UMA (other than delivering the pitch simply, which T-Mobile appears to have achieved) is lack of Wi-Fi enabled handsets, which is quickly being solved (as forecasts expected). Of the top 5 selling handsets in the U.S., only one lacks Wi-Fi ... and everyone bemoans that, which demonstrates that Wi-Fi is now expected (espec. in highly capable phones).
Enterprise Femtocells are not yet here (Huawei is the only vendor with a potential product, and capacities need to increase) but will be introduced in the next couple of years. When they appear, they eliminate the problem of requiring Wi-Fi enabled handsets, as all handsets work as on the macrocellular network.
So: UMA now, Femto soon.
For more on Femtocells and UMA (comparisons, analysis, business cases), please see my blog at: imcellular.org
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