UTStarcom, Inc. announced a trial of its Continuityâ„¢ fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) solution with Brasil Telecom.

UTStarcom’s Continuity solution provides fully integrated roaming for users between fixed-line Voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks and mobile networks developed on the company’s IP-based mSwitchâ„¢ softswitch platform.

“As one of the leading operators in all of Latin America and a key member of the Fixed Mobile Convergence Association, Brasil Telecom is always at the forefront in providing next-generation services to its subscribers,” said Francisco Santiago, Vice President of Operations at Brasil Telecom.

UTStarcom’s Continuity platform is a flexible, end-to-end solution that can be quickly deployed with Brasil Telecom’s existing infrastructure. It is designed to enable the operator to compete with other mobile service providers for GSM subscribers, which totaled 86.2 million users in Brazil at the end of 2005.

The Continuity solution includes an FMC Feature Server (FMC-FS) based on the company’s mSwitchâ„¢ IP softswitch platform and a dual-mode Wi-Fi/GSM handset. With Continuity, fixed and mobile service providers can deliver a unified service over both wireline and wireless networks. End users can interconnect to the fixed-line or cellular network transparently and roam across them seamlessly regardless of their location, communication device, or network access method.

“UTStarcom’s Continuity solution has the flexibility and power to enable all types of carriers to enhance their services,” said Brian Caskey, vice president of worldwide marketing at UTStarcom. “Our Continuity architecture is designed to enable all service providers to continue to add mobility feature servers for CDMA, WiMAX, and other services well into the future. We believe FMC is the first step for streaming media, and ultimately, we expect the Continuity solution can even support IPTV over the mobile device.”

The trial, which began in February 2006, will be conducted in Brasilia, the country’s capital city and headquarters for Brasil Telecom.

“We believe this trial is the first step toward the commercial deployment of UTStarcom’s Continuity solution with a top-tier service provider in Latin America with more than 12 million subscribers,” said Rene Mendez, Vice President of Sales in the CALA region at UTStarcom, Inc. “Our Continuity solution is designed to provide a deployment approach that dovetails with Brasil Telecom’s existing infrastructure scenario and long-term network expansion plans and is supported by our strong, local, in-country service and support organization to respond to any customer query.”