As the network and end-user technologies underpinning fixed and mobile services become increasingly aligned around Internet Protocol, new services are appearing that attempt to harness the best of both mobile and fixed worlds. In response, operators have had to consider their strategic options in their quest for future growth. Many operators are placing strategic bets on fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) to satisfy a perceived customer demand, as mobile becomes redefined as personalised mobility services for an access-independent era.
But what are the prospects for FMC? What are the risks and potential rewards for embarking down this path? How will the industry evolve? Which telcos are best positioned to emerge as the winners and why?
Fixed-mobile convergence: opportunities and strategies for the mass market answers your key questions:
- how can fixed-only operators utilise FMC as a defensive weapon against fixed–mobile substitution (FMS) and what are the risks to their existing businesses?
- is FMC a new opportunity for mobile carriers looking for growth beyond maturing mobile markets with saturated penetration rates?
- what are the options for mobile operators who do not have a fixed-broadband service in their portfolio and want to go-it-alone with a mobile-only strategy?
- how can integrated fixed–mobile operators use their presence in both markets to offer converged services that are simple to use and simple to understand for the mass market consumer?
The report analyses the strategic opportunities and threats that FMC poses, by operator type:
- fixed-only operators
- mobile-only operators
- fixed-mobile integrated operators.
The report provides forecasts for fixed–mobile convergence in Western Europe, 2005-2010, including:
- Western European households with broadband and mobile
- Western European households with dual-mode FMC services
- penetration of Western European households with broadband and mobile
- FMC penetration of total households
- number of individual FMC handsets
- dual-mode FMC handset sales.