SAN FRANCISCO--Voice communications over the Net is for real, according
to market researcher International Data
Corporation.
For typical long distance firms, the specter of Net-based phone service
will undercut their long distance margins and force them to
reevaluate their plans, according to Mark Winther, group vice president
for telecommunications research.
The industry research firm estimates that use of the Net--and, as a
consequence, IP (Internet Protocol)--to transmit voice calls
internationally will grow from a $600 million business in 1997 to a $20.5
billion opportunity by the year 2002. For domestic calls, revenues are
predicted to reach $3.9 billion in 2002 from $100 million in 1997.
"They're going to go through tremendous, wrenching changes and a lot of
it
is going to be due to IP communications," said Winther, who spoke at an
IDC
conference here.
The change is already being felt in some circles. In reaction to
discount
long distance initiatives from the likes of Qwest Communications, AT&T is planning to bolster its
voice-over-IP
story via its WorldNet service.
IDC also predicts that by the year 2002, 11 percent of all minutes for
international or domestic long distance calls will be carried over an
IP-based network.
Winther said the voice services industry is currently in a state where
"price arbitrage" dominates, but with the dawn of the year 2000,
value-added services on top of voice-over-IP will be the new
battleground,
with multimedia and universal messaging functions coming into play as
priorities to customers.
He also noted that IP-based phone service may require intervention from
the
feds, since it bypasses local access charges.
One place where IP-based voice communications will still face barriers
is
within corporate intranet settings. Winther said use of internal
networks
for voice traffic will face hurdles, because voice is not
viewed as strategic to many companies, unlike high-speed data networks.
"Corporations are going to adopt this--but we don't see them doing it for
cost savings, but because of specific applications," Winther said.
Join the conversation
Comment replyThe posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Click here to review our Terms of Use.
The iPhone maker says that the mobile industry lacks "consistent adherence to Frand principles" and wants the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to step in.
An Internet troll who posts allegedly hateful and racist remarks on Facebook's RIP sites, seems blase about his activities when he is intercepted by a BBC reporter.
Paul McCartney follows bands such as AC/DC and Coldplay to snub streaming services. Unlike Coldplay, the former Beatle has pulled all his music from Spotify, and Rhapsody.
After large numbers of longtime 'Burners' failed to get tickets during the event's recent selection process, many claimed organizers had failed to adopt a sensible system. Now, those organizers are trying to calm community anger.
Fabrication is moving to the nanoscale, aided by a super-hard tip 10,000 times smaller than a pencil point that could be used for microscopic biosensors and optical probes.
Greenpeace tries to cast some light on the energy sources behind data centers and commend IT companies that advance clean energy and efficiency through tech. Facebook and Apple aren't quite there yet, it says.
Join the conversation