Telecommunications Online today looks at a serious problem with FMC (fixed-mobile convergence) GSM/Wi-Fi handsets: their batteries drain very, very fast.

Netcentrex VP Erik Larsson says, "You need standby time of at least a day, but what we're getting at the moment is under four hours. We reckon it's going to take about six months for that to be resolved by the handset manufacturers."

Prices for the products, Larsson says, could also be an issue in the short term: his company's FMC handsets are currently priced at about 400 Euros.