UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) is driving FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence). UMA is really WiFi and cell phones combined. ABI Research, as reported by InformationWeek, currently projects that there will be 65 million UMA users by 2012. The growth in UMA is happening without strategic thinking by the wireless providers. Almost like a small sound that will turn to a rushing river within 12 months. FMC converges the wireline with the wireless. WiFi enabled phones are incorporating VoIP which allows the cell phone to deliver the same voicemail and billing as the home phone. Voicemail and billing are the basics for claiming that a service provides FMC. There are big advantages to even this basic FMC service like the simplicity of checking one voicemail, combining cellular and wireline minutes, and dealing with a single bill. For the carrier, there are advantages of bundling services to increase the ARPU and stickiness of the customer. A customer whose integrated wireline, internet, and cell phone service come from one provider with one bill will more likely stay with that service than not and will have a higher ARPU. At least that is the Holy Grail of FMC.
Growth in WiFi and new cell phones represents a tremendous threat for the big four cell service providers. There are a few reasons for the growth in UMA. WiFi has become ubiquitous. On the home 
front, when most of us log on to our laptops with WiFi we see multiple unsecured WiFi wireless access points appear. So around our homes, WiFi is free and available. Almost every home I visit has WiFi for the home. And MuniWiFi is becoming real. Brookline, Massachusetts, the town I live in, is completing its town wide Muni-WiFi rollout. This Muni-WiFi is not free for customers but it is available town wide. See the photo to the right of the Strix radios with 802.11a 5.8MHz, b, and c 2.4GHz and 4.9GHz for public safety.
At the same time new cell phones are appearing on the market that use WiFi as a connection. The 
iPhone is the most well-known although the iPhone software will not allow a download of a VoIP client. On the other hand, there are some excellent phones which can be picked up for reasonable prices - half the iPhone such as the Motorola 8525 which opens to a web browser approaching the size of the iPhone. The 8525 has a full key board. Nokia’s N95 can also use WiFi. The N95 has a 5 megapixel camera and it is great for music as reported by Om Malik on GigaOm. Raghav Gupta reported on GigaOm: “I tested the N95 music service and had an awesome experience.” The new Nokia N800 internet tablet will allow users to have Skype loaded on WiFi as reported by Darla Mack.
There is a large population of users that does not roam very often including teenagers, students, and adults. Among this group are typical early adopters using WiFi on their phones to replace carrier’s internet service like EVDO, Edge (which the average user just learned about through the iPhone), and 3G. These early adopters are purchasing the phones without service contracts and are using the WiFi to make VoIP calls. The VoIP service provider is one the customer is already using on their home computer like Skype. This move is significant because the service providers are looking to increase their ARPU (”average revenue per user”) through a) the voice calling plan, b) internet fees, and c) services provided over the internet like music and video for
$2.99 per month. If a customer uses WiFI on a mobile phone for internet services and voice calling, there will be no ARPU. If the customer uses WiFI for internet on the cell phone but continues to use the cell phone service provider for some voice calls only there will be lower ARPU.
T-Mobile is one company that is paying attention.
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