The techs SMEs need for converged telecoms

Developments in broadband, wireless networks and devices are making converged telecoms services such as fixed-mobile a reality for small businesses. Anthony Plewes takes a look at the technologies that are driving this revolution.

Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is quite a simple idea - it allows businesses to benefit from the reduced communications rates provided by their fixed-line connection, while still benefiting from using a mobile phone.

Employees access the fixed network through their local wireless office network which carries any calls employees receive or make while in the building. FMC is a form of least cost routing (LCR) and because in-office calls can be transported over the business' broadband network, it is possible to make substantial savings.

But what are the components and technologies necessary for a small business to take advantage of FMC?

Broadband

More on converged communications and SMEs

♦ Research report
Read the full analysis of research into converged communications conducted by The Bathwick Group and silicon.com

♦ Video with Jonathan Steel
Watch a video interview with The Bathwick Group analyst Jonathan Steel discussing SMEs' use of communications technologies

The first requirement for being able to use an FMC solution is a broadband connection. Although calls are going over the fixed network, they are not being carried over the switched voice network and they need to be transported across the broadband connection into the main communications network.

Before broadband was pervasive, smaller businesses would have struggled to carry any converged services over their data networks but now more than 95 per cent of respondents to a recent survey from silicon.com and The Bathwick Group said they have a broadband connection. (Read the full research report and watch the video with analyst Jonathan Steel on how small businesses use communications technologies.)

However, to get satisfactory quality of service of calls over broadband, businesses will need to have a high-capacity connection and ideally some form of quality-of-service provision from their service provider (see the voice over IP article in this special report). This will prioritise voice calls on the network over other data traffic that might disrupt it.

Wi-fi networks

The second requirement for businesses is an in-office wireless network. Although Bluetooth was a common wireless network choice for the first FMC solutions, wi-fi's popularity as an office network is making it the de facto choice for current and future solutions. Wi-fi is now ubiquitous and around three-quarters of businesses surveyed by silicon.com and The Bathwick Group already have a wi-fi network. (Read the full research report.)

The wi-fi network is responsible for carrying the voice call within the office. However, carrying real-time traffic such as voice or video over a wi-fi network is not a straightforward step and many businesses will need to upgrade their network to cope.

Much like wired Ethernet before it, wi-fi networks were not designed specifically to carry voice. They are essentially a shared medium where all traffic, be it real-time or batch, voice or data, needs to compete for the same resources. In larger offices therefore, it is essential to implement some form of traffic management in order to provide the user with the necessary quality of service for voice calls.

Dual-mode devices

To be able to use a mobile phone in the office over the wi-fi network, the handset needs to support wi-fi as well as GSM. Luckily wi-fi is becoming increasingly popular in mobile phones. The Yankee Group's Global Mobile Device Tracker Forecast predicts that 58 per cent of smart phones will be wi-fi capable by 2008.

However, businesses need to beware of the issue of battery drain for devices that are using wi-fi to carry voice. Because GSM and Bluetooth are meant for voice communications while wi-fi was designed for data, the information that is superfluous to the voice calls is being processed by the device, further draining the battery. This means that the mobile phone battery will need to be more frequently charged when used in the office.

Some of these issues are solved by Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) initiative from the Wi-fi Alliance. These modifications to the wi-fi standards provide for power saving features for devices, including allowing the wi-fi radio to stay longer in a low-power sleep mode. WMM also introduces a mechanism for guaranteeing quality of service for voice calls. However for these modifications to work both the access point and device need to support the WMM standard. (Continued on next page...)