Convergence soon brings added value for end users in the Middle East

Isn't convergence an old story? Convergence is a term that's been used for some years, but originally in the sense of 'technological mergers', says Jussi Ilmarinen, Director of Convergence Marketing and Sales, Networks, Nokia. 'In the mid 90's there was a great deal of discussion about putting fixed and mobile networks together, but there were no benefits for end users,' he adds. 'Now when we think about convergence it means added value for the end user. We are all moving around during the day - in the office, in the home, in shopping centers, driving cars- we need to have access to our personalized services, through the best possible access available whatever the technology behind it.'

There are different elements to convergence, industry convergence, service convergence; terminal convergence or network convergence says Ilmarinen. All of them are happening at the same time - creating major changes in the communications industry. The change is evolutionary, but they affect existing businesses in many ways.

The User perspective for Convergence

Users, both business users and consumers, want easy access to their own services independent of location. That means someone needs access to their phone book, their messages, their pictures and documents, whether they're at home having dinner, commuting to the office, working in the office, in a business meeting or on a business trip. 'All those kind of things,' says Ilmarinen. 'It means personalisation and mobility for the end user.'

That is complex, but people should not have to worry about the complexity. 'The network has to take care of that,' he continues. 'To make it all successful depends on the end user experience. It's a question of simplicity both on the operator side and the end user side.'

There is, of course, more to it than that. Every user has a preferred terminal, sometimes more than one, depending on their interests and their job. The idea is that you always have access to all services, whatever the terminals are, but if you are on the move or if you are in the office, the services may be a little bit different. Alternatively you can use the same terminal whether you are at home or in the office or on the move. That means the terminal has to work in different modes, depending on where it is.

Operator's perspective

'Convergence is changing the competitive landscape for telecoms operators,' says Ilmarinen. 'Fixed operators are now the ones feeling the most pain. They see a serious need to do something because of declining revenues. However, the mobile operators are also waking up, as Internet VoIP clients can be installed also in mobile devices. Mobile operators have also seen that this sort of competition is now starting.'

'This means there will be different business models,' Ilmarinen notes, as different players all start to move into the converged market. 'The players are starting from their existing business and are defining their future strategic direction. Fixed operators are trying to keep in the fixed network the minutes that they are now losing to the mobile networks. Dial-up voice connections are moving to broadband, as voice over IP is taking traffic away from these providers.'

In addition, it is not just a question of competition for voice, he adds. There is competition all round for multimedia services. And around all this, the whole of the industry is moving from circuit-switched operation to packet-switched. 'Both of these changes are happening to mobile and fixed networks,' notes Ilmarinen. This is giving operators a chance to rethink their business models.

'Until now the telecoms business model has been quite vertical,' he says. 'Now horizontalisation is happening. That means different suppliers are able to pick up small parts of the business. Take Internet dial-up access, for example where the access has been separated from the service. This has also happened with broadband.

'And, just as in the fixed business, services and networks are being separated, mobile virtual network operators are moving into the wireless business. It is happening in the mobile space: the service provider is different from the access provider,' he continues. 'Of course, here, every operator can see this as a threat or an opportunity -- it depends. It means that you can have different kinds of business models. You can have external service providers, or you can have certain services inside the network.'

In the past, different services were 'like islands', he notes, listing as examples mobile voice, mobile multimedia, fixed PSTN voice, fixed VoIP. 'But there were problems with interoperability. For example, when instant messaging started, at first it was only possible to exchange messages within one Internet service provider. Later it has been expanded so that IM is more broadly used.'

Similar principles apply to other services, but now that new packet-based networks are being built and the architecture allows interoperability, different business models are emerging, he explains.

But does the structure of service providers allow a move to converged services? 'It is interesting to see what is happening here,' Ilmarinen says. 'In the operator space nowadays, there are not so many companies that are just fixed network operators or only mobile operators.' For example in the Middle East, many operators have both fixed and mobile business units, such as STC in Saudi Arabia, Etisalat in UAE or Qtel in Qatar, which makes the fixed mobile convergence even more interesting for them.

Nokia Approach to convergence

'Our thinking is that there are three points that are important for convergence: terminals, in particular the clients; a unified core, which means the core network for whatever access method is being used; and then also the applications and services,' Ilmarinen explains. He points out that Nokia is working on all three sectors of convergence - via the Nokia Developers' Forum for applications, on multi-radio terminals and a Unified Core for networks. 'That explains the landscape in which we are working,' he notes. Nokia is working with key operators and service providers to help them to be successful, having publicly announced five cases: Telecom Italia; France Telecom; TeliaSonera; Elisa, and Saunalahti and working on many more .

The Nokia Unified Core includes mobility management, multiaccess, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and 3GPP release 4 based circuit switched products. The Nokia Unified Core is independent of access technology, he emphasises. 'Access can be, well, whatever access is available, depending on its characteristics. It includes fixed access and radio access, including licensed and unlicensed frequencies. Operators have to think how to optimise and maximise their revenue with the assets they have,' he says. 'The Nokia Unified Core is making it happen.'

With service convergence, we believe that all the services can be accessed through any access means, and it is the core network that is pulling that together.' The unified core 'is an enabler to make service convergence and network convergence', he adds.

When the services converge there will be interoperability between the networks,' says Ilmarinen. 'So if you can send a multimedia message from your mobile phone you can also have that facility in your fixed network with new terminals.'

Fixed operators have looked enviously at mobile handsets and tried to replicate them. 'Our thinking is: why not use the mobile phone through the fixed network?' asks Ilmarinen. 'User experience of the mobile networks has led to consumer acceptance. You can use your phone at home and on the move. You have your personal number directory that you have with you at all times. There are many advantages like that for the end user.'

'The evolution of fixed and mobile networks will take time, he says, 'but if the architecture is the same then the interoperability and the service convergence can be implemented very easily.'

And then, he says, think about this from the fixed network point of view. 'There are questions about how to move from the circuit-switched environment to the packet switched environment,' he notes. 'Are you moving to the fixed network softswitch or are you going to the IMS architecture? In my mind the key thing is that if you just move to the fixed network softswitch you only update the voice service.'

The Nokia convergence solutions for fixed and mobile networks are based on the IMS architecture, supporting the above-mentioned services, both voice and multimedia services. Nokia has developed standard open IMS architecture based on 3GPP release 5. The next 3GPP release 6 will be available in 2006, already including softswitch functionality as in Next Generation Network evolution.

'With Nokia IMS architecture, then you really build the network architecture also for future services,' he says. 'And that means multimedia services. Only updating the technology for the existing voice service is not, in my mind, a good investment.'

The first converged services are being explored now. 'We are now in the first phase, with services that are either in mobile or in fixed networks. But IMS enables services such as client presence, push-to-talk, video serving, streaming kinds of applications,' he adds. 'You have to have voice over IP also. When you look at the revenue that operators have now it is voice that is the biggest part. That's why it is important that it is there, as well as multimedia services. You need both.'

Why is this happening now?

'A lot of the basic technologies are now there,' he says. 'There is digital content now: all content can be digitised very easily. Multi-radio terminals are coming, so that gives WiFi access. Nowadays in the digital home you already have three different means of radio access - Bluetooth, WiFi, and GSM/3G - and that's not just phones. With PCs you get the same thing - you can have a multi-radio terminal there also.'

All of this is happening around IP, says Ilmarinen. 'IP has made it possible to bring broadband and mobile together. All services will be implemented on top of IP protocols, and the IMS architecture is adopted into the networks. . In order to support end to end IP connectivity, Nokia solutions also support also end to end SIP protocol from the mobile terminal, through Nokia DSLAM for DSL access to the Unified Core Network.

'Fixed Mobile Convergence is an evolutionary process for future communications networks and services. And the key thing is that convergence is creating new value for the end users,' concludes Jussi Ilmarinen.