There are many of us today working to consolidate the telephone and messaging environments in order to provide our attorneys with convenient access to a single phone and voice-mail system.  Fixed Mobile Convergence, or FMC, is the technology that will tie together voice, unified communications, wired and wireless networks to enable communications from just about anywhere.  FMC, however, is not about simply using one device such as a dual-mode handset.  It is about incorporating wired and wireless voice and data communications along with SIP, presence, video conferencing and text messaging and making these accessible through one device.  This definition is a moving target, as additional technologies that could be included in FMC are IM and visual voice mail.

In 2007, we have seen a refocusing, or at least a renewed emphasis, on FMC due to the proliferation of smartphones and the growing popularity of such technologies as enterprise VoIP.  Since 2006, 50 percent of enterprise PBXs purchased support VOIP.  While not the only component required to implement FMC, the addition of a system supporting VoIP is a significant step.

A goal of FMC is to tie the PBX and all its services, as well as the other technologies listed above, to the cell phone.  Extending the PBX to cell phones will achieve tremendous mobility for users as they are no longer tied to their office phones and can use that same office number while traveling.  Calls made on their cell phones are routed through an enterprise PBX.

Seamless Connections
Voice is not the only thing that becomes mobile.  Data connections on cell phones will increase connectivity.  Assuming you have a wireless data connection at home, you will be able to start a call from your cell phone at home via the Internet.  As you walk out of your house, the call is then handed off to the cellular networks.  Once you arrive at your office, the call is picked up by your internal wireless network.  Then, in your office you have the option of pressing a button on your cell phone to transfer the existing call to your office phone or simply continuing to use your cell phone.  Ensuring a seamless transition during this process can prove difficult.  (As someone who works in the Sears Tower, I understand that this can be a significant challenge, especially in the elevator ride up to the 76th floor.)  As equipment to enhance cell signals is added to buildings, these issues will decrease.

Now, imagine having access to your firm's voice mail through your cell phone.  This refers to voice mail capability beyond seeing a message icon or an e-mail message with an attachment.  Instead, you can actually look at your cellular screen and see how many messages you have, who called you and their numbers.  Include presence technologies, and you can also see if the person you are calling is available, busy or out-to-lunch.  The person on the other end can see your presence status as well.

The Opportunity and the Challenge
The evolution of FMC has been in the works for quite some time.  In a December 2005 article in CIO Magazine, David Sproul, Manager of Emerging Technologies and IT Capital Projects at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, stated that FMC should be viewed from two perspectives.  It should first be viewed as a "strategic business concept addressing the business needs for ‘anytime, anywhere' access to critical information and decision tools in order to facilitate better, faster and timelier decision making."  Second, it should be looked at as an "enabling technology to address mobility as an extension of the IT environment."

According to Doug Mohney at VON Publishing, fixed-mobile convergence was thought to be a solution only as long as there was a cell phone in the equation.  The various major companies and providers are still shaping FMC.  As FMC technology continues to develop, the number of vendors offering FMC is expanding.  Today, FMC can be viewed from two perspectives.  The first is based on a carrier view.  In the carrier view, the telephone company handles the signaling and not the PBX.  This is also known as Wireless-Wi-Fi Convergence or dual-mode.  The second is an enterprise view where the IP-PBX maintains call control.  This is also referred to as single-mode.  In the IP-PBX mode, software that is provided by the IP telephony vendors is loaded on cellular phones, which allows the cell phones to communicate with the PBX.  This approach extends the PBX capabilities to cell phones.

In an October 2007 Information Week article, Frank Bulk recently summed up one of the challenges to FMC:  "The soft benefits of immediate access and quick communication, whether in or out of the office, are undeniable, but may be initially frustrated by immature products that don't work as reliably as a regular mobile phone."

About our author . . .

Eric Anderson is the Director of Technical Services at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in Chicago with over 18 years of law firm experience.  Eric is the Vice President of ILTA's Mobile, Remote and Wireless Peer Group.  He has served a as a Conference Co-Chair of ILTA ‘06 and ‘07, served three years as a Conference Track Chair and one year as a Volunteer City Representative for Chicago.  Eric attended Aurora University and Northwestern University and holds a BA degree.  He can be reached at eanderson@sonnenschein.com.