Delaying VoIP adoption no longer a choice for mobile operator, says Ovum

Mobile network operators have to reply to their customers' calls and embrace voice over internet protocol (VoIP), according to Steven Hartley, principal analyst at Ovum.

He explained that, because there is obviously demand for VoIP from mobile users, it is a waste of time, money and effort for operators to try and delay its adoption.

According to Mr Hartley, the growing demand means that mobile network operators don't have the time to wait for the deployment of the beyond-3G networks that would permit them to compete in the VoIP market.

His views appeared as a report by Ovum said that mobile network operators must embrace VoIP in order to neutralize the threat posed to them by internet call providers.

The report noted that VoIP can attract new users, decrease the number of customers moving in and out of a customer base or even encourage data plan uptake when it is implemented well.

33 internet voip providers to roll out voice services

VoIP users connected to the internet through local broadband service providers (ISPs) can now talk to each other and telecom subscribers, as the telecom regulator made a tariff directive to commercially launch IP VoIP telephony services.

Under VoIP tariff plan, 33 licensees, known as internet protocol telephony service providers (IPTSPs), can now sell voice services.

Service providers can charge a maximum of Tk 0.20 a minute for domestic IPTSP to IPTSP calls and a maximum of Tk 2 for a call from IPTSP to any mobile or landline operator, in line with a Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) directive.

However, the minimum airtime charge for calls from IPTSP to any mobile or landline operator will not be below Tk 0.65 a minute, according to the BTRC.

For international outgoing calls, IPTSP will have to follow the rates for international calls, as issued earlier by BTRC.

However, the new tariff directive frustrates IP telephony licence holders, as such charges will not be financially viable. Different telecom operators are charging lower than the tariff set for IPTSP.

"If we offer IPTSP to IPTSP calls almost free of cost, it will help boost internet penetration," said Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers Bangladesh.

In addition, other IP-based voice services to other operators will not be viable due to the uncompetitive tariff directive, he said. "It's not a very good proposition in terms of tariff."

It would have been better if the per minute charge was fixed between Tk 0.30 to Tk 0.60, said Manju.

The services are to be value-added services at low costs, it will gain popularity in some areas such as intra-company communication, he said.

IP telephony licence owners can provide PC (personal computer) to phone, phone to PC, phone to phone or any other use to subscribers, based on the IP telephony voice service.

From a technical point of view, experts said, the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is set to open through legal channels as IP and VoIP technologies have nearly the same features.

BTRC last year made a guideline to award IP voip telephony licences exclusively to local ISPs. Customers now can talk by using their broadband connection just after installing a modem for voice transmission.

Currently, more than five lakh broadband users are connected through local ISPs. On the other hand, mobile operators claimed more than 40 lakh are connected via mobile internet phone. Bangladesh's internet phone service penetration rate is only 4 percent.

Abdus Salam, who is the managing director of Agni Systems Ltd, an IP telephony licensee, said: "We should not charge extra for voice as our customers already have to pay for an internet connection."

He said that people should be permitted to use the technology first.

"We trust it will soon become popular as it is affordable."

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VoIP 'a highly reliable service'

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is a "highly reliable service" that has been able to expand into traditional areas of telecommunications, one expert has stated.

Diane Myers, directing analyst for VoIP and internet protocol multimedia subsystems at Infonetics Research, utters that the technology has matured and become increasingly reliable, particularly in the medium of fixed-line communications.

Additionally, she explains that VoIP has successfully managed to pierce the mobile phone market.

"The mobile side of VoIP is really just beginning to blossom and, while it is far from mainstream, it is certainly growing in options and innovative offerings," she says.

In France, VoIP operators have even facilitated the technology to become available to residential customers as part of their telecommunications package, Ms Myers continues.

Consumers can also keep away from costly roaming charges by adopting VoIP to make international calls - for example, roaming rates in the US for UK carriers are at present set at an average of £0.94 per minute for receiving calls and £1.17 for making them.

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Truphone Is opening To present VoIP App For Nexus One

Voice app provider Truphone is releasing a reorganized app for Android which is well-suited with Google’s Nexus One handset. This is the first VoIP client for that phone. In fact it turns out the Nexus One is going to be very important to Truphone's on the whole strategy.

The reorganized for Android device (version 3.0.2) also makes Truphone well-suited with the T-Mobile Pulse, taking it to five Android devices now. Truphone worked closely with Google on the app.

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