Enterprises are fixed-mobile fans

It's not yet two years since the first FMC (fixed-mobile convergence) product hit the UK. But according to new research, in two years' time, one in five businesses will have deployed the technology.

According to the study, from Vanson Bourne for billing systems company Martin Dawes Systems, more than half of businesses surveyed were aware of the technology, 10 per cent were using it and an additional seven per cent said they intend to do so within the next two years.

The businesses that responded listed cost-savings as the main reason for using FMC - more than 75 per cent of those with an interest in the technology cited money as the main reason for their interest. The second most favoured reason was boosting worker productivity.

The enterprises surveyed said the biggest challenge to the adoption of FMC is the initial cost of the system itself - cited by 64 per cent - followed by the need to justify ROI, mentioned by 48 per cent.

Many of the larger telecoms and mobile players have already launched, or are planning, a converged fixed-mobile service.

FMC uses a single handset to make both VoIP and cellular calls. To date, most FMC services launched have been targeted at consumers and have had a lukewarm response - BT's Fusion has secured 40,000 subscribers since its debut in 2005.

Since then, the telco has started offering an enterprise-focused version of the service, which is being trialled by Leeds City Council.