VoIP Picks Up Momentum
By Kim Renay Anderson, TechWeb News
Sep 7, 2000 (4:41 PM)
URL: techweb.com
Using a PC to make calls instead of the telephone -- technology known as "voice over Internet protocol" -- is gaining popularity in the telecom industry. True VoIP is a novel way for consumers and small businesses to reach out and touch someone, but it's not voice quality that motivates the dialing masses, said Alex Benix, analyst at the Yankee Group in Boston.
"Customers are moved by price alone," he said. "Also, since large corporations get low telephone rates, there is not a motive yet for them to move towards VoIP."
However, Benix noted that VoIP is young and efforts are in the works to improve it. In the long run, telecoms like Sprint Corp. (stock: FON), Westwood, Kan., will be migrating to the technology, giving customers more choice in voice service, Benix said.
"The VoIP market is still too small to make an impact on large carrier profits," said Benix.
Standard applications of VoIP are not in place -- one reason why it has not become more widely deployed, said Kathleen Simpson, analyst at the Yankee Group.
"It cheaper than the traditional network, but it has delays in data that you don't get with a regular phone" said Simpson. "It must be managed and voice quality over data network needs to be prioritized for improvement."
Simpson said standards for VoIP, such as H.323 and SIP, are being worked on by worldwide standards bodies.
VoIP service providers' presence in the telecom industry is not getting a piece of the giants' action, said Charles Fleckenstein, Group Manager, Business & Technology at Sprint. Before VoIP becomes more popular, its quality of service and certain network issues must be resolved, he said.
"The Internet is a machine-to-machine network and it doesn't matter what order the packets are in," said Fleckenstein. "VoIP is not good right now because the quality of service is not being addressed."
Within a year or two, Fleckenstein said, ATM and IP will start to merge to offer better service.
Jim |
