C&W hooks up with Orange over FMC

Cable & Wireless (C&W) has picked Orange as its FMC bedfellow.

The telco has announced a five-year partnership with the mobile operator to provide national roaming in the UK for its fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) service which will launch later this year.

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Fixed-mobile convergence enables a single device to be used to make calls over an IP network when the user is indoors, seamlessly switching to a mobile network when the device moves out of range of the VoIP network.

The benefits of FMC to enterprise are it has the potential to cut mobile costs - by utilising VoIP in the office - while also reducing the number of telephony devices a company needs. Staff only need one phone number to be contactable whether they are in the office or working remotely.

C&W's FMC system will use low-power GSM spectrum for in-building coverage, powered by picocells (the big brother cellular tech of femtocells) - rather than wi-fi, which is used by BT's rival Fusion service.

A C&W spokesman said the advantages of using GSM - rather than wi-fi - for FMC are that the spectrum is licensed (C&W acquired spectrum for this purpose back in 2006), and therefore offers more reliable performance and security than wi-fi.

Enterprises also don't have to replace mobile handsets as standard GSM devices can be used. By contrast, BT's Fusion service requires users to buy a dual-mode handset.