Paul Limon, IT manager for the Americas at heavy equipment manufacturer JCB Inc. in Pooler, Ga., concurs. "Extending our [virtual LANs] out across multiple wireless networks would be a natural for us, particularly for our quality-control inspectors," he says. "Who wants to continually log on and log off?"

The required technology components are arriving piecemeal, however, so converged mobile nirvana isn't here just yet. As a first step, laptops and handheld devices are gaining embedded connections to both Wi-Fi and mobile WAN networks. This gives a device a higher probability of finding and connecting to a nearby wireless network, effectively extending the user's mobile coverage. Some converged service offerings are already available.

Aggregating services

Network aggregation services from companies such as iPass Inc. and Fiberlink Communications Corp. represent an early move toward convergence. The wireless and wired network services they bundle and resell from carriers around the world are used with client devices that support connections to multiple networks.

The various services are accessible from a common client software interface provided by the aggregator, so users can access the best available network wherever they are. The aggregator maintains the multicarrier relationships and provides back-end security, billing and settlement services.