Businesses set to show fixed mobile convergence some love - finally

FMC (fixed mobile convergence) might not have become the enterprise must-have that telcos predicted, but it seems the technology is slowly finding its way into businesses across the globe.

FMC works by routing calls over mobile networks when a user is out of the office and over a broadband connection via VoIP when they're in range of a hotspot. Its chief selling point is the potential for savings on call costs but the tech has also been sold as a way for enterprises to gain additional telecoms functionality such as unified contacts information.

While the technology has some big name backers among the telcos - both BT and Cable and Wireless offer FMC services - take up has yet to match the early hype.

However, according to analysts ABI Research, adoption is set to grow at a significant pace - a compound annual growth rate of 27 per cent up to 2014.

According to ABI, handset voice connections for business customers will grow from 6.3 million in 2009 to more than 27 million by 2014.

The increase will be driven by greater business penetration of dual mode cellular/wi-fi mobiles, as well as the growing use of femtocells and picocells, the analysts predict.