That day is not far when subscribers will be able to make VoIP calls from iPhone. The real question not whether iPhone will ever come out with an idea to provide VoIP services but eventually when and how much will it cost? A business plan to launch the VoIP services for individuals and house holds, though seems to be blurred in a distant future, is now clearly visible on the horizon of the next product line of telecom industry. At this time, when the telecom providers seems to have built enough infrastructure to provide such services, timing is going to be one of the important factors to reap the benefits.
An article recently published on PC World, which somehow did not catch much of the media attention, reported that British VOIP provider Truphone showed conventioneers how to use the iPhone's built-in Wi-Fi capability to make calls over Truphone's VoIP network. Truphone representatives demonstrated how a call can be initiated from a handset and then routed to Truphone's server via Wi-Fi. Though the Thruphone's spokesperson Mr. Smith asserted that the event was only a demonstration and was not intended to be a commercial launch, he also took the liberty to state, "This program doesn't do anything that Steve Jobs says not to do. and Apple is fairly neutral on third-party applications and they won't deliberately try to break them."
While Truphone regarded the event as a mere demonstration, the telecom market just seems right to launch such services. Telecom providers have upgraded their network to 3G and they have been laying wires all across United States to provide services which require, along with content, high speed IP network and a remarkable quality of service. VoIP products and services, which only existed on the desktop applications because of bandwidth issues, are now ready be deployed on the mobile phones.
Mobile VoIP, an application of VoIP technology to mobile handsets, requires at minimum high speed IP communications and the most common technology so far is Voice over Wi-Fi. Mobile VoIP, which uses SIP and Jabber protocols, can also be used over any broadband IP-capable wireless network connection such as the various 3G standards and WiMAX. While iPhone is only capable of connecting to Wi-Fi, some new phones in the market already have the capability to connect to the Wi-Fi network and make calls. T-mobile has already three phones in its pocket with such features and is aggressively marketing these handsets.
Estimations are that VoIP Mobile industry will grow to $12 Billion by 2010 in Europe alone. According to a study conducted by Gartner Inc, which was published in an article on PC World, by 2008, VoIP-enabled systems will account for some 97% of all systems sold. While all of this is still to be seen; potential yet to be demonstrated and VoIP services yet to be unleashed, it should be no surprise that year 2008 will bring an unprecedented era of IP phones in the world of telecommunication market.
Showing posts with label IPTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IPTV. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Challenges for IPTV in United States
According to a report pubished by DSL Forum, the number of people using IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) services has increased by 179% in the 12 months to June, 2007 worldwide. The number grew from 2.9 million to 8.2 million subscribers. Europe added over three million subscribers in the 12 months to 30 June 2007, making it the strongest market both in terms of growth (231 per cent in 12 months) and total subscriber numbers (1.5 million to 5 million), while in USA, the number grew from 0.4 million to 1 million subscribers.
Interestingly, the number of broadband subscribers increased by only 25% in the 12 months to June, 2007 worldwide. The number increased from 250 million to 313 million broadband users and North America continues to dominate global broadband market with 16% of world subscribers.
As the facts state, IPTV has been able to convert broadband subscribers to opt for IPTV services. The maximum of this growth was observed in top markets like France (2,550,000 customers) and Hong Kong (938,000 customers), which show that IPTV can be deployed rapidly to large numbers of subscribers, if the market conditions are right.
While in Europe, the market conditions may have helped IPTV to expand at a much higher rate, in North America the conditions do not seem so right, a recent study published by Garner Inc. suggests. According to the report, the United States Pay T.V. market is fairly saturated with 82 percent of all U.S. households reported having a pay-TV subscription in 2006 and the penetration is expected to increase to merely 84 percent by the end of 2011.
To add to those problems, the market is fairly dominated by the satellite and cable operators such as DIRECTV, Time Warner Cable and comcast. Many telecom providers are still laying cables to develop a network capable of delivering a new generation of IP based products and services. AT&T, which launched a project Uverse to provide such a solution, as of September, 2007 has surpassed 100,000 customers (10% of total IPTV users in United States) and its fiber-rich network passes approximately 5 million living units.
The study observed that as the availability of IPTV offerings from telecom providers increase competition in this market, understanding what consumers currently receive, and what they will want from their pay-TV provider, will be critical to gaining or protecting market share. Such crititcal and differentiating factors can be from the qualitative factors such as quality of service, to intaractive features and pricing.
The study observed that interactivity features with the pay-TV subscription have increased during the past year, rising from 9 percent penetration to 15 percent. Observing the patterns, cable providers are upgrading to digital transmission as well as including either the features and/or equipment as part of the service offering at no additional cost or for a nominal fee.
While it will be difficult for the telecom providers to beatthe offers presented by satellite TV, the bundling of service, interactive features and pricing could be the only differentiating pointers. As of now, ahead of the telecom providers lies a huge challenge to secure a strong market share and convert existing subscribers from cable and satellite to internet protocol based TV.
Interestingly, the number of broadband subscribers increased by only 25% in the 12 months to June, 2007 worldwide. The number increased from 250 million to 313 million broadband users and North America continues to dominate global broadband market with 16% of world subscribers.
As the facts state, IPTV has been able to convert broadband subscribers to opt for IPTV services. The maximum of this growth was observed in top markets like France (2,550,000 customers) and Hong Kong (938,000 customers), which show that IPTV can be deployed rapidly to large numbers of subscribers, if the market conditions are right.
While in Europe, the market conditions may have helped IPTV to expand at a much higher rate, in North America the conditions do not seem so right, a recent study published by Garner Inc. suggests. According to the report, the United States Pay T.V. market is fairly saturated with 82 percent of all U.S. households reported having a pay-TV subscription in 2006 and the penetration is expected to increase to merely 84 percent by the end of 2011.
To add to those problems, the market is fairly dominated by the satellite and cable operators such as DIRECTV, Time Warner Cable and comcast. Many telecom providers are still laying cables to develop a network capable of delivering a new generation of IP based products and services. AT&T, which launched a project Uverse to provide such a solution, as of September, 2007 has surpassed 100,000 customers (10% of total IPTV users in United States) and its fiber-rich network passes approximately 5 million living units.
The study observed that as the availability of IPTV offerings from telecom providers increase competition in this market, understanding what consumers currently receive, and what they will want from their pay-TV provider, will be critical to gaining or protecting market share. Such crititcal and differentiating factors can be from the qualitative factors such as quality of service, to intaractive features and pricing.
The study observed that interactivity features with the pay-TV subscription have increased during the past year, rising from 9 percent penetration to 15 percent. Observing the patterns, cable providers are upgrading to digital transmission as well as including either the features and/or equipment as part of the service offering at no additional cost or for a nominal fee.
While it will be difficult for the telecom providers to beatthe offers presented by satellite TV, the bundling of service, interactive features and pricing could be the only differentiating pointers. As of now, ahead of the telecom providers lies a huge challenge to secure a strong market share and convert existing subscribers from cable and satellite to internet protocol based TV.
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