Fixed Mobile Convergence
What is FMC?
Fixed Mobile Convergence is here, the concept of merging mobiles with landlines is fully available across the industry. As a customer you can now twin your mobile with most PBX’s so when someone calls your DDI the PBX can make an invisible (to the calling party) call forward to your mobile so you never miss a call. You can chose to answer it on your mobile or let the PBX take the call to your voicemail. There are also solutions out there now that can give you the ability to answer all calls on your mobile and doing away with a PBX altogether.
What FMC options are there and how do they work?
Well, as we mentioned, there’s mobile twinning on modern PBX’s where the PBX makes an invisible forward to mobile call. Some of those solutions even give some PBX functionality on the mobile. These solutions do provide some good PBX functionality that is very useful.
On the Hosted VoIP side of the market there are apps and clients that sit on smartphones that work on predominantly WiFi and sometimes 3G data networks. These solutions are SIP clients and require a Hosted VoIP platform and account to work. Mostly, they give very little benefit as they would interfere with the mobile network service that is already on the SIM in the first place, they are difficult to maintain and constantly require updates.
On the mobile carrier side there are clever forward to mobile systems at the core of the network. For example, a landline number is mapped to a ghost mobile number at the core of the network so it is perceived that you don’t have a mobile number. But, when you actually dial from the mobile on the service, the ghost mobile number is presented to the called party who thinks, “who the hell is this?” Once they find out who it is, what do they do? save the mobile number or the landline? The mobile operator would want them to save the mobile number wouldn’t they? or would they?
Now there’s Skyrack Mobile-X
For the first time, customers can replace their Mobile contracts and SIM’s with a Skyrack SIM that is a true PBX extension. There is no mobile number and no contract, just a monthly license fee that incorporates all the best features of the Skyrack Connect Hosted VoIP service. Your DDI is mirrored on to the SIM and it works over standard GSM, not 3G or WiFi; it’s not an app or a client its a SIM that replaces your existing SIM and mobile contract immediately. So, it’s like the PBX mobile twinning system (and crucially it will enhance any PBX manufacturers FMC solution) but there is no forward to mobile call, it’s mirrored; your Mobile-X is your DDI. Also, like the other VoIP solutions out there, you have a landline DDI and not a mobile number. However, thats where the similarities ends with all the VoIP apps. Mobile-X works over GSM not 3g or WiFi and it’s not an app or a client which potentially can go wrong and regularly does.
And finally, the mobile operator FMC solution can’t present the DDI, Skyrack can!
So, when it comes to FMC, Skyrack truly has set the benchmark today. It works, there is no mobile contract and there is no mobile number. Conversely though, if you are seriously attached to your mobile number, have no fear we can do any of the above too! And there is one more thing we have on the roadmap that no one else does. If you are really attached to your mobile number and would rather have that as your DDI, Skyrack can port your number on to the platform and enable the mobile number for your deskphone as well as your Mobile-X.