Convergence (telecommunications)

With convergence (from Latin convergere to incline ), the struts together and merging of various strands referred to a whole.

In the telecommunications sector in particular has the extensive digitization of data ( image, sound, video, text, etc. ) a detachment from content-specific, usually historically based submission forms ( analog telephone lines for voice, satellite, cable and radio equipment for sound and video; enables teletext and fax for signature, etc.). Digital content can be transmitted in many different ways, decisive is not the type of transmission but only the transmission capacity. For a convergence between the transmission paths and services in the telecommunications, there are many different ways. This is also a reason why the term convergence is not uniformly used in telecommunications.

There are basically in telecommunications following convergence types:

• Virtual Convergence (tariff variants and call forwarding )
• Convergence service for message management (Unified Messaging)
• Convergence in Messaging ( SMS, MMS, IM)
• Convergence of access networks; such as IP -based Internet and circuit-switched telephone network by means of Next Generation Network and bitstream access
• Merging of voice and associated telephone numbers on technical network boundaries (Dual Phone)
• Merging of fixed, mobile and telephone system ( integrated telephony in the cloud, Platform as a Service)
• Triple Play and Quadruple Play with the integration of media content: ( IP ) TV, video-on -demand

The first convergence approach to private clients in Germany was the late 90s primarily from the combination of mobile and fixed-line services, collective variants, which should encourage the substitution of fixed lines by mobile. In Germany, the former VIAG (now Telefónica O2 ) with the " home zone " approach, a pioneer in this field.