<I have few questions. What is to barrier to entry to IP phone market? . What does NTOP have that others could would have a hard time doing? Why would T /ATHM let NTOP get all the money when T could handle it all? Does NTOP have patents on it's software? What's so unique about NTOP? >
Many people like to say that the barrier to entry into the business is small. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many companies like IPVC are setting up and promising the moon and quickly faltering. Why? They have no network in place.
IDT has a dedicated backbone they have spent years building. Click here for a detailed chart and analysis of their backbone:
idt.net
They also operate their own ISP which is a closed system and optimally tuned for telephony.
When you route a call over net2phone it is automatically routed over IDT's proprietary system and the quality is improved immensely.
VOCLF has struggled for years because even though they were at one time the industry leader. They lost that position because of no network.
Now, in addition, IDT has favorable termination agreements with France, Germany, Japan, the middle East and some 50 other Countries that AT&T, Sprint, or WCOM cannot compete with. To explain this better. You must understand that to route a call over the Internet there is going to be an origination fee from the local carrier if you don't have a (POP) point of presence. IDT has 750 of them in the States. That by passes local carriers in most major areas. AT&T and Sprint and WCOM have these also. But, what they do not have is termination agreements competitive with IDTC' and NTOPS's. You see once the call get on the net it still must ring in another country. Even if we install our own gateways in these Countries there is still that last mile issue. For this the local monopolies charge as much as the cost of the entire call to that point sometimes. This is where IDT's network shines. IDT has favorable rates established with nearly all the important monopolies in the World. AT&T, cannot do this unless they are willing to give the same in return and as the USA is the primary destination Country for most calls. They will never do that.
It might interest you to know that for the last year AT&T, Sprint WCOM and most of the regional bells have been routing their calls over IDT's network because it is cheaper than their own and would cost billions of dollars to duplicate and take years. In most cases there are confidentiality agreements in place. But it is an open secret in the industry.
As for ATHM, same reasoning applies.
Look for AT&T to try to make a deal with NTOP SOON, now that Sprint has shown an interest.
Hope this answers your questions and happy investing. |
