Techworld reports Orange has finally launched a 3G version of its Unik service in France. Unik uses the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) protocol to switch calls between Wi-Fi and mobile networks.
3G Unik is offering the Samsung P270 and the Sony Ericsson G705u, which go some way to remedy UMA's poor handset support. The G705u, Sony Ericsson's first UMA handset, is a UMA version of the new G705 web-orientated phone, according to Techworld.
The UK's first UMA service, BT Fusion, was a very long-winded, public failure, replaced by Total Broadband Anywhere, which does not switch calls between indoor and outdoor networks.
T-Mobile is selling a UMA-based service, Hotspot@Home, in the US, but Telecom Italia abandoned its UMA service in 2007.
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