T-Mobile US and Meru announced last week the companies have teamed up to provide UMA to enterprise customers. T-Mobile is the first national carrier witha fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) offering targeting enterprise users. It is also the first US company to leverage UMA technology.

T-Mobile joined Meru's Wireless Interoperability and Network Solutions Partner Program, and the two companies have completed interoperability testing of UMA-equipped T-Mobile devices with Meru enterprise wireless LANs. 

The press release quoted Phillip Redman, a Gartner research vice president: "The number of mobile-phone-only users in enterprises is expected to increase six-fold over the next four years.  This means enterprises need to start looking now for ways to increase the efficiency and mitigate the costs of their voice communication infrastructures.  One effective means of doing this is to combine in-building wireless voice with external cellular services."

Dave Fredericks, national director for products solutions and planning, T-Mobile USA, Inc., was also quoted saying: "...UMA technology ensures a seamless experience in moving between networks. .....we are confident that the use of UMA technology will change the nature of the enterprise voice experience."

T-Mobile is now the second company worldwide to offer UMA services in the enterprise market. Orange, another leader in UMA offerings, launched Unik PC for Orange Business Services subscribers in December. It allows business travelers to call freely from abroad or within France from a computer connected to the Internet via a company network, from a home connection or with Wi-Fi.

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