Neil Montefiore, CEO of Singaporean mobile operator MobileOne (M1), says he is considering plans to introduce a fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) service using femtocell base stations, to allow cellphone users make cheaper calls at home. The base stations incorporate GSM and Wi-Fi capabilities and give operators a platform in the home where other products such as IPTV can be added. However, Montefiore went on to say that a number of technical issues have to be resolved before any launch of FMC can take place, adding that he was planning to travel to Sweden next week to examine Ericsson’s product range.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, M1 launched a mobile internet access service based on high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) technology in December 2006.Take-up of M1 Broadband has been encouraging, with subscriber numbers growing at 20% every month, according to Montefiore. So far, there are more than 35,000 M1 broadband subscribers, he said.