According to a new study by Dittberner, three categories of Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) services will be the most popular in the near future, potentially competing with “all mobile” solutions (Fixed mobile substitution). Services based on dual-mode terminals (3G and WLAN); Set or programmable automatic call forwarding (“follow-me”); Home-zone pricing schemes.

Dittberner addresses the various business and marketing issues pertaining to fixed-mobile convergence in this comprehensive study, which reveals that FMC services are unlikely to generate any sizable incremental revenue particularly for full service carriers. For example, carriers advertise services based on dual-mode handsets as providing convenience to users (i.e. one phone, one number, one address book, one voice mail box, one bill, one point contact), but remarkably also emphasize the cost benefits to clients because calls made and received via the home, or office WLAN will be billed at the fixed wireline tariff, which is usually lower than the mobile tariff

“Revenues to be derived by full service carriers from converged fixed-mobile services will probably pale in comparison to fixed and mobile video services revenues for example”, said Dr. Alain Thiney, vice president at Dittberner. He added that “the development of IP-based high value-added services delivered via fixed and mobile broadband access networks will be the real revenue generators, as FMC provides added convenience for which users will not be willing to pay a premium.”

However, the study concludes that FMC could provide integrated fixed-mobile carriers a significant competitive tool to maintain or increase their market share, helping customer retention, and even helping capture new mobile customers. The Dittberner report includes a comprehensive FMC revenue simulation model and several business cases illustrating the positive impact of FMC on revenues.