Convergence of fixed and mobile communications towards universal personal communications

The objective of the paper is to provide an overview of the latest developments in the fixed as well as mobile landline networks and to identify factors steering these hitherto separate entities towards a common network providing universal personal communications. It is demonstrated how the fixed networks gradually acquire features of the mobile networks especially in their access part and, in turn, architecture of the mobile networks approaches that of the fixed networks with their ability to create flexibly new services. Blurring distinction between communications and computer technologies and overlapping activities of information-based industries are shown to be the main drivers of the general convergence process. Barriers to convergence such as lack of world-wide standards are also mentioned.