8 February 2006 British Telecoms has released an enterprise version of its fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) service, Fusion, which it claims can halve mobile phone bills.

BT Fusion enables mobile users’ calls to be routed over a broadband IP network rather than via their phones, provided they are within range of a wireless hub.

Users only need carry one handset and calls are seamlessly switched between mobile and fixed-line calls.

“We are now making the cost and convenience benefits available to businesses too, starting with smaller businesses,” said Bill Murphy, managing director of BT Business.

BT Fusion is initially aimed at small businesses with up to 10 employees, and has been introduced at a discounted tariff of £6.25 per month per handset.

The announcement marks the next phase in BT’s FMC roadmap. In June 2005, the company rolled out the first version of Fusion for consumers.

The service is only available to users who have a BT broadband line and who make calls over the BT Mobile network.

“This is not a product for all enterprises,” said Pauline Trotter, an analyst at Ovum. “[It] will appeal to small businesses that are rich enough to subscribe to BT broadband, small enough to be covered by a single hub, sophisticated enough to use a wireless LAN and who make a lot of on-site mobile calls.”

BT plans to release FMC products that cater to larger enterprises in the coming months.