BlackBerry MVS: Cracking the FMC Conundrum
Posted by Campbell Williams | 03 Mar 2011
Category: Fixed Mobile Convergence
Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) isn't new. Fixed Mobile Integration - as it used to be termed - has been around since the 90s. Different technology solutions have got close to cracking the code but they've all fallen short of the bar for one reason or another. Here are the big problems:
- Handover: can you move seamlessly from an in-building wireless environment onto a carrier's cellular network? Usually not.
- User behaviour: can a user make and receive calls in the normal way or do they have to use a new bit of software (like a Skype client) on their phone? Usually the latter.
- Inbound calls: can you receive calls on your mobile in a WiFi environment? Usually it's just outbound.
- Network barring: will your network bar the use of a 3G data channel to make free SIP calls? Invariably so.
That's not an exhaustive list but they're the biggies. Charterhouse has been working with RIM for some time on BlackBerry MVS. Again, not a new product, but we've been trialling the pre-release software loads that integrate natively via SIP to Cisco or Mitel IP telephony systems. When you see it demonstrated, you realise that they've cracked it. All the above problems are solved:
- Handover: just like you roam from one WiFi access point to another, you roam from a WiFi to a GSM connection transparently.
- User behaviour: they make or receive calls in the normal fashion and the software works out the most cost-effective route based on connectivity availability.
- Inbound calls: the user won't know if the call is coming to them over the Internet to a SIP client on a VPN-connected BlackBerry or if it's a standard cellular call. It's transparent and it works both ways.
- Network barring: they couldn't block it even if they wanted to. If you're in a WiFi environment, you hop off their network and it's just another SIP softclient call.
- PBX integration: you can make or receive extension to extension calls, transfer, conference, etc, just like a desk phone.
Approximately two-thirds of mobile calls are made in the office. Those are calls you are paying to make or receive (or are biting big chunks out of your shared minutes). MVS eliminates these. If your offices are abroad or your roaming users have WiFi access (increasingly ubiquitous and increasing free), all your roaming charges vanish. Plus they're contactable on one number, in any location, over any network. There's no risk at all: the worst that can happen is that you end up making or receiving cellular calls, which you'd have done anyway.
Interestingly, we've got customers who will eliminate desk phones completely for their mobile staff. When they're in the office, they're on the wireless LAN and calls to their extension (their BlackBerry) are free. When they're out, they do what they would have done anyway. If they're at home, their BlackBerry is a teleworker extension and it's free again. Brilliant.
Previously, non-disclosure agreements have prevented us from talking too much about what we're doing with MVS but the certification programme is done and the product is nearing full release.
Naturally, a blog is not a forum for sales messages, so I won't mention that we're the only Cisco and Mitel integrator working with them in Europe at time of writing (but we are). Nor will I mention that we've installed the first BlackBerry MVS deployment integrated to Mitel IP in the UK (but we have).
I apologise for the paragraph above. I got carried away. We're excited and we want to shout about what we're doing. We think there's a good chance you'll be excited too and will want to listen.
As is always the case with technologies that are destined to be disruptive in the marketplace and are of huge interest to customers, there are plenty of people claiming to be working with RIM on BlackBerry MVS. We know they're fibbing as we know who else has been invited to the party. Here's the badge to look for to identify who has the skills:
