Tatara has entered market trials with major carrier customers marking an industry first where an end-user subscriber is able to maintain their mobile phone number identity to both make and receive VoIP calls across a variety of access networks using converged mobile devices such as laptops.
The company says this offering gives mobile operators, both traditional and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), the opportunity to participate in the growing VoIP market by providing a better integrated end-user solution than you can get today via a standalone softphone service.
“One-number” VoIP yields a quick return on investment for carriers looking to deliver new service revenues leveraging their existing networks, while building the foundation for a graceful transition to more advanced IMS applications. Convergence is the most important trend in communications – and not just wireless - today,” said Craig Mathias, a Principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. “One-Number VoIP will be very popular with end users, and offers mobile operators a unique opportunity to retain customer ownership while gaining from the proliferation of VoIP service offerings entering the market.”
With converged mobile VoIP solutions, mobile operators are now able to extend 2G/3G voice services for their subscriber base across a variety of private and roamed networks. This provides a valuable service extension for customers traveling outside the 2G/3G coverage, such as in-building or internationally. In addition to delivering a new revenue generating service, Converged Mobile VoIP also enables mobile operators to retain customers considering competitive VoIP offerings by delivering a far superior product offering.