Telecom Italia SpA has chosen not to use Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology for its fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) service Unica and has opted for a homegrown SIP-based solution instead. According to an Unstrung report, the operator abandoned its UMA plans because of Italy’s tough regulatory environment and a low supply of UMA-capable handsets. Telecom Italia launched a commercial FMC service earlier this year with UMA network controllers from Motorola, but the service fell foul of the national regulator Agcom. After carrying out a lengthy investigation, Agcom ordered Telecom Italia to develop a wholesale version of its offering so that competitors would have a chance to offer a similar service. The operator was given only six months to develop the service.
The new SIP-based service, which was launched in October, works on more handsets than UMA-based services. Initially, customers will be able to use six or seven Nokia handsets to access the service, although the operator is in talks with Nokia about pre-installing the Unica client into its dual-mode phones. Telecom Italia’s decision follows news that the 3GPP’s GERAN working group has announced that UMA is on its way to being accepted as a 3G standard technology.