Kineto Wireless

Amidst the hype of new technologies and industry-altering inventions, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) has made its way to the top of the list among operators looking to deploy fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services. The technology, which expands the 3GPP mobile network architecture to include new IP access technologies like broadband and Wi-Fi, is a straightforward way to achieve convergence. However, with the technology beginning to see widespread deployment in 2006, mobile and integrated operators are asking how UMA fits with other evolutions happening within the mobile network.

This paper assesses the relationship between UMA and a number of other mobile network evolutions initiatives, such as UMTS, Soft MSCs, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), and WLAN Interworking. The conclusion of the paper is that UMA shares significant synergies with these initiatives and plays a valuable role in the overall long-term evolution of mobile networks.