FMC (Fixed-Mobile Convergence) is in the focus of attention of the communication industry. FMC means that users can use one terminal, one number and only needs to pay one bill to smoothly switch between fixed-line network and mobile network, so that users can enjoy the services with the same quality anytime and anywhere. For users, FMC means simplicity, convenience, health and environmental protection. To carriers, in particular the fixed-line carriers, FMC can bring the potential of fixed-line network into full play and has become the hope for sharing the profit generated by value-added mobile services.
The implementation of FMC is a gradual process, which include three layers, namely business convergence, terminal convergence and network convergence. Among the three layers, network convergence is the technical foundation for enabling FMC. An access-to-core all IP-based multi-service FMC bearer network should be constructed to uniformly bear the voice, data, video and signaling flow. Such an IP bearer network requires carrier-class high reliability, high quality, differential QoS guarantee, high security, good scalability and maintainability, the smooth compatibility to the legacy TDM and ATM networks.
At the beginning, FMC is mainly used to enable the smooth switchover of voice between fixed-line network and mobile network. Voice service has very high requirement on the availability of the network. According to online field test data, if the network has flash of over 200ms, the voice service user will be able to clearly hear the obviously interrupted voice; if the flash time is more than 500ms, the voice signaling is likely not recovery, thus interrupting the call. Therefore, high availability is the entry requirement on all IP multi-service FMC bearer network. If the 200ms end-to-end protection switching cannot be reached, the bearer network will not meet the FMC requirement. Huawei has developed a number of advanced technologies for carrier-class high availability, which include BFD Anywhere, E-VRRP, IP FRR, VPN FRR, and TE Auto FRR. Through the combination of these technologies, Huawei’s All IP Multi-Service FMC Bearer Network Solution will provide end-to-end 200ms protection switching, thus addressing the demands of FMC on the high availability of the network.
After the FMC becomes mature, the service available to end users will expand from voice service to high-speed data access and interactive video services. Then the bearer network must be under heavy bandwidth resource pressure. The traditional management model which reduces the workload to guarantee the QoS will not function anymore. And for services that have strict requirements on QoS, for example voice and video, the QoS attributes like delay, jitter and packet loss ratio must also be guaranteed by all IP multi-task FMC bearer network., or the services cannot be provided smoothly. In the field of QoS, Huawei’s All IP Multi-Service FMC Bearer Network Solution, through the combination of HQOS, DS-TE and VPN QoS technologies, not only can provide QoS guarantees to the key services of carriers, but also provide differential and high-quality SLA according to the different requirements on flow rate of voice, data, video and signaling of big account VPN. Huawei will also provide fine-grain operation solutions such as online bandwidth and service order, and bandwidth binding, to meet the demands of the carriers for transforming their services.
For existing traditional networks such as TDM and ATM, Huawei’s All IP Multi-service FMC Bearer Network Solution has taken compatibility into sufficient consideration. Through the application of PWE3, Ethernet clock transparent transmission, IWF, ATM Cell transparent transmission and ATM frame transparent transmission, All IP Multi-service FMC Bearer Network Solution can provide reliable access support to the 2G and PSTN networks which still use ATM and TDM. (See
Complete, Smooth, Progressive---Overview of Huawei Solution for Migration from ATM to IP for details)
Huawei All IP Multi-Service FMC Bearer Solution has power network management solution as support. The considerate security protection can ensure the perfectly safe services provided by the carriers and can sufficiently protect the communication security and privacy of the personal users.
With the profound understanding on telecom network services and technologies, Huawei has established complete and mature solutions for All IP-Based FMC Network integration. By the end of Aug 2007, Huawei’s All IP Multi-service Bearer Network has been applied by more than 90 mainstream carriers around the globe and bears about 700 million lines of NGN and Mobile voice services. The convergence of fixed-line and mobile voice is just a first step to FMC. With the continued evolution of FMC, Huawei’s All IP Multi-Service FMC Bearer Network will play an even more significant role for improving profitability and reducing the operation cost of the carriers and provide infinite potential for the future business development of carriers.
