FMC to generate $33.4B in revenue by 2012

Fixed-mobile convergence subscribers will number 170 million by 2012 and generate $33.4 billion in revenue, if cooperation increases between all the players in the value chain, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media.
More than 145 million consumers are expected to use fixed-mobile convergence by 2012, but that will still be relatively lower penetration than the enterprise segment where 8.8% of the total subscriber base will use FMC compared to 4.8% for the consumer segment.
Because FMC currently only offers consumers the convenience of a single bill and discounted in-home pricing, it will face a “substantial challenge in capturing the consumer imaginations,” said Paul Merry, senior analyst at Telecom & Media and lead author of the study. “There are a number of vested interests at play within the convergent telecommunications marketplace,” he added.
“Developing FMC to its full potential will be a sizeable challenge requiring financial and intellectual investment as well as a discarding of vested interests,” Merry said. “Convergence is the purest form of standardization and requires that all parties submit to the common aim.”
T-Mobile USA Inc. currently offers a FMC solution in a number of test markets using equipment from Nokia Corp.