Wireless Industry Leaders Publish Open Specifications for Cellular/WLAN Convergence

With the UMA specifications now available, service providers can look to deploy interoperable solutions that enable subscribers to roam and handover seamlessly between cellular networks and public and private WLANs using dual-mode mobile handsets. With UMA technology, subscribers receive a consistent set of mobile voice and data services as they transition between access networks. Solutions based on the UMA specifications support the handover of active mobile voice calls and data sessions between networks, ensuring no interruption of service.

"There has been no shortage of one-off fixed-mobile products and solutions over the years," said Peter Jarich, senior analyst, wireless infrastructure, Current Analysis. "The release of the UMA specifications is especially important because they point to a critical mass of carrier interest in convergence while finally providing vendors with an open set of specifications to build to."

"As a key participant in their development, we believe the UMA specifications for Cellular/WLAN convergence represent a significant milestone within the wireless industry," said John O'Connell, president and chief executive officer, Kineto Wireless. "To support the broad deployment of UMA-based services, Kineto is providing a number of UMA-compliant products and services for service providers and the mobile device community."

Development of the UMA specifications began in late 2003, with the participating companies sharing a common goal of creating, specifying and promoting a technological solution for extending mobile voice and data services over unlicensed spectrum technologies, including Bluetooth and 802.11. The UMA specifications available though the UMA technology web sites are intended for use by vendors of wireless communications systems and applications to develop UMA compatible solutions.

To support the commercial deployment of UMA-based services, Kineto Wireless has developed a number of UMA-compliant products and services for service providers and the mobile device community. For service providers, the Kineto Mobile over WLAN (MoWLAN) system is a UMA-compliant core network solution for extending mobile services over broadband IP access and WLANs. For the mobile device community (handset, chipset and software stack vendors), Kineto has developed a UMA-compliant handset software client and complimentary development tools. Kineto also provides mobile device manufacturers with expert resources to accelerate their time to market of UMA-compliant products.