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26th August 2005 - A new research by OECD shows that popularity
of VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) affects the the growth
of fixed line and mobile phone operators.
The growing popularity of Internet telephony, or Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP), threatens the fixed-line revenues
of traditional carriers, especially for international calls,
the OECD report concludes. In addition, however, VoIP presents
a challenge to mobile telephones, which in many countries
are now more numerous than fixed connections.
In 2003, for the first time ever, the number of fixed phone
lines actually fell in OECD countries, with mobile operators
gaining market share at the expense of the traditional telecoms
companies, a trend which continued in 2004 and 2005. As for
Internet telephony, a comparison of the cost of calls via
Skype, a VoIP provider, and via traditional fixed-line carriers
in OECD countries revealed an average saving of 80% using
Skype, according to the OECD report. On a per capita basis,
Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands are the largest users
of Skype.
Looking ahead, the OECD predicts that new service offerings
from traditional carriers, such as Wi-Fi hotspots in cities,
will provide tougher competition for 3G mobile operators than
these had been expecting when they obtained their licenses,
in many cases for large sums. To maximize revenue, the report
suggests, 3G operators may need to change their charging policies,
for example by persuading customers to sign up for longer
term contracts rather than purchasing calling time on an ad
hoc basis, as is presently the case for a large percentage
of customers relying on pre-paid cards.
Among other things, the report forecasts that:
- Service operators will increasingly offer integrated video,
voice and data products in a single service package.
- The growing popularity of downloading video from the Internet
will reduce the time people spend watching free-to-air TV,
driving down audience share and advertising revenue for
broadcasters and making it harder for public-service broadcasters
to meet their social policy objectives.
- Increasing competition from new platforms, notably broadband
Internet, with traditional broadcast or telecoms providers
may require a re-examination of existing regulatory frameworks.
In particular, regulators may need to review obligations
regarding universal telecommunications service as more companies
offer telephone services over the Internet without having
a physical presence in a country.
(source: OECD)
For more information visit OECD
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