The A to Z of wireless

F is for Fixed-mobile convergence

FMC, or fixed-mobile convergence, allows people to use a single phone for home/office purposes and when they're out and about. Business benefits include a single contact number for workers, whether they are in the office, at home or travelling. It also means companies only have to deal with one company for telecommunications provision.

The tech works by using a dual-mode phone that can connect to both standard mobile networks and VoIP. The phone has a single number and when you move away from your house or office (up to about 25 metres) the phone seamlessly shifts from VoIP to mobile network without affecting the call.

The list from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more on each of the entries in the list.

A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

The first high-profile FMC service in the UK was BT's Fusion, launched in 2005. However, despite this first-mover approach, the service has been hampered by relatively high pricing and limited availability of handsets. Orange has also jumped onto the bandwagon with its Unique service.

Despite these teething problems, analysts predict that the FMC industry could be worth around £28bn by 2011, especially when businesses buy into it. With heavyweights Nokia, C&W and O2 all sniffing around the technology, it would well be the next big thing.

See how Leeds City Council have taken advantage of FMC here.