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July 03, 2007
ABI Research Forecasts UMA Services Will Grow
By Narayan Bhat, TMCnet Contributor
A latest research report from ABI Research (News - Alert) shows a sharp increase in UMA
(unlicensed Mobile Access) services. With mobile operators actively pursuing the technology, the report predicts, UMA subscriber numbers will reach 65 million by 2012.
“Few years ago, many market-watchers thought that Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) had run its course as a means of bridging cellular and Wi-Fi networks. However, because of the delays in the growth and development of viable competing solutions (SIP, or VCC), the opposite is true: UMA services, devices, and subscribers are still growing,” the report notes.
Seven handset vendors are currently offering UMA-enabled handsets, and several mobile operators are pursuing the technology as consumers show interest.
“Until recently, proponents of competing fixed-mobile convergence solutions frequently cited the fact that UMA was only usable with 2G or enhanced 2G cellular services,” commented ABI Research’s principal analyst Philip Solis in a statement to the press.
The growth in UMA services is greatly attributed to the upgrading of UMA client software, which makes it possible to work with 3G handsets and services and in turn, relieve 3G network congestion.
(unlicensed Mobile Access) services. With mobile operators actively pursuing the technology, the report predicts, UMA subscriber numbers will reach 65 million by 2012.“Few years ago, many market-watchers thought that Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) had run its course as a means of bridging cellular and Wi-Fi networks. However, because of the delays in the growth and development of viable competing solutions (SIP
, or VCC), the opposite is true: UMA services, devices, and subscribers are still growing,” the report notes.Seven handset vendors are currently offering UMA-enabled handsets, and several mobile operators are pursuing the technology as consumers show interest.
“Until recently, proponents of competing fixed-mobile convergence solutions frequently cited the fact that UMA was only usable with 2G or enhanced 2G cellular services,” commented ABI Research’s principal analyst Philip Solis in a statement to the press.
The growth in UMA services is greatly attributed to the upgrading of UMA client software, which makes it possible to work with 3G
handsets and services and in turn, relieve 3G network congestion.As a news release notes, British Telecom now has over 40,000 customers for its consumer UMA-based service, Fusion, and has launched a corporate version in eight European countries.
To counter the move, France Telecom (News - Alert) launched a similar service called “Unique”, selling over 250,000 UMA handsets. Also, last month, T-Mobile launched a large-scale UMA-based service in the U.S.
To counter the move, France Telecom (News - Alert) launched a similar service called “Unique”, selling over 250,000 UMA handsets. Also, last month, T-Mobile launched a large-scale UMA-based service in the U.S.
Several other carriers worldwide are also testing the UMA service on their lands.
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Narayan Bhat is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
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