According to Telecom Asia, research firm Informa predicts that fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services will generate $28 billion in revenues worldwide by 2011.

"Companies such as BT Group and France Telecom are targeting fixed-mobile convergence to shore up customer bases and differentiate themselves from pure wireless operators like Vodafone Group," the article states. "For BT, converged services can help curtail the loss of fixed-line customers to mobile operators by offering unique and cheaper telecom services to customers."

Informa sees 92 million FMC subscribers worldwide by 2011. The U.S. is expected to lead with 33.2 million subscribers by 2011, compared to 30.6 million in Asia and 26.2 in Europe.