Industry's first unlicensed mobile access platform revealed

Orange has recently announced the launch of the industry’s first 3G unlicensed mobile access platform, otherwise known as an UMA platform

Communications giant Orange has recently announced the launch of the industry’s first unlicensed mobile access platform, or UMA platform, which is designed to allow users to switch between their WiFi connection at home and the operator’s 3G network when it comes to gaining mobile broadband access.

According to reports the new platform will work in the same way as the one that offers uninterrupted switching between the two network types via 2G UMA. In the past this technology has been limited to voice services, but the new platform will allow subscribers to seamlessly switching between the different network types.

Orange currently operates Unik, which is a 2G UMA service with around one million subscribers in France, Poland, Spain, and the UK. Gareth Abel, director of marketing operations at Orange’s devices division, said: “We’ve extended the technology to include 3G networks. The hand-off between the WiFi network and the 3G cellular network needs to be as reliable as it is in the 2G world, and it has been technically challenging to get this to work.”

John Delaney, research director at IDC, said: “Consumers accessing data services over a WiFi connection when it is available, rather than a cellular network, is already happening at the high-end of the market, although making the switch between the two networks seamless is a good idea. With multimedia services, tariffs are still an issue, so having a solution that makes it more affordable to access these multimedia services is going to appeal to consumers.”

Mr Abel went on to state that the launch would initially be in markets where Orange already has a strong presence, and in response to this Delaney said: “It seems sensible. You need broadband to make UMA work, and the bigger the existing customer base, the less of an uphill battle you’ll have trying to sell it. What’s more, it’ll be easier for Orange to upsell to their own customers.”