Transcript INTUG - international leased lines - ITU

Voice over IP
as an Enabler of CostEffective Telephony
www.intug.net
Nairobi 25-6 March 2004
INTUG
Mike van den Bergh
Vice Chairman : Africa
International Telecommunications
Users Group
Nairobi 25-6 March 2004
www.intug.net
INTUG
contents
• INTUG - Background
• Challenges facing policy makers /
regulators / carriers
• VoIP - An international perspective
• VoIP – Efficiency / effectiveness
• Opportunities and drivers
• Recommendations
• Conclusion
What is INTUG?
INTUG
Nairobi 25-6 March 2004
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• Members
– National associations (Africa is lacking!)
– Corporations
– Individuals
• activities
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ITU and WTO
OECD
CTO
ICC
CITEL / APECTEL / ATU?
Our Aims
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Real and effective competition
Genuine choice for users
Lower prices
Higher quality
More innovative services
Constructive co-operation with
– International bodies
– Governments
– Regulators
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INTUG Priorities
1. Open access to global mobile
networks
2. Regulatory best practice
3. Liberalization
4. Universal access
5. Broadband
6. Leased lines
7. IP telephony / VoIP
8. Numbering
INTUG
Challenges Facing Policy
Makers and Regulators
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• Reducing the cost of telephony services
• Increasing the range and the reach of
telecommunications services
– Bridging the Digital Divide
– Achieving Universal Access
• Protecting (state-owned) PSTN revenues and
foreign exchange earnings
• Growing the economy / attracting foreign
investment – using telecoms as an enabler
• Overcoming fixed opinions!
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Challenges facing
Traditional Carriers
• High fixed costs
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– IPLCs, long-term bi-laterals, accounting rates
etc.
• Lowering of barriers to entry
– Emerging carriers with lower cost structures
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Shortage of capital to effect changes
Lack of resources / skills
Grey market traffic eroding margins
Billing and settlement issues
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ITU Views on VoIP and
IP Telephony
• "IP Telephony", MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label
Switching), ... and other alternative access
technologies are rapidly reaching the top of the
agenda for the telecommunications industry
world-wide. The possibility of transmitting
voice over IP-based networks, with all its
challenges and associated opportunities, such as
voice and data integration, constitutes a
milestone in the convergence of the ICT sector.
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), World Telecommunication Policy Forum, 2001
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ITU Views on VoIP and
IP Telephony
• IP-based applications are likely to become
more readily available at cost-effective
prices, for the benefit of all users and
industries, particularly when supplied
under competitive market conditions in
which multiple, alternative sources or
means are available to address user and
industry needs
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), World Telecommunication Policy Forum, 2001
Nairobi 25-6 March 2004
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INTUG
ITU on developing
countries
• “While some developing countries have
policies prohibiting IP Telephony, others
have policies embracing it. Some do not
regulate IP Telephony at all, while others
have chosen to include it in a positive
manner within their telecommunications
regulatory framework.”
3nd Experts Group Meeting on Opinion D Part 3 (ITU-D) Document IPTel-3/X-E
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VoIP Efficiency
• VoIP technology is based on packet-switching
• Advantages of VoIP over circuit switching:
– Packet switching allows several telephone
calls to occupy the amount of space occupied
by only one in a circuit-switched network
– More efficient overall use of the network
infrastructure
– Routing approach further improves resilience
– Data compression adds to overall efficiency
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Maximizing efficiency /
increasing revenue
• Key benefits of VoIP as a technology
– Cost effective
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• IP compression equipment is about 25% of the cost of TDM
equipment
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Lower support and maintenance costs
Interoperability
Wide spread use
Centralized management
Scalability
Rapid deployment
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Network Infrastructure
• Voice over IP / Voice over the Internet
• Managed network with quality guarantees
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– vs.
• Low cost shared network with no quality
guarantees
– Different applications / target markets
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Opportunities and Drivers
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• “VoIP offers MEA – a region with some of the lowest
teledensity in the world – an opportunity to extend basic
telephony to more of its inhabitants.
• “The chief drivers are VoIP's potential to extend access
to telephony services to more people and its reduced
costs for international interconnection and international
telephony.
• “The inhibitors are more to do with regulations and
fixed opinions than with quality and cost.”
Gartner Dataquest, October 2002
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Recommendations
• “Incumbents and other traditional voice-service
providers in the Middle East and Africa (MEA)
should add voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
services to their retail portfolios to target more
of the region's inhabitants. VoIP services such as
prepaid and postpaid calling cards could
increase their market share and give them vital
experience of retail VoIP”
Gartner Dataquest, October 2002
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Recommendations
• “Incumbent operators and other traditional
voice-service providers in MEA should
interconnect with VoIP wholesalers that can
offer lower interconnect costs without
compromising voice quality. Doing so will also
give them limited opportunities to increase their
operational and profit margins, and so to
strengthen their competitive positions”
Gartner Dataquest, October 2002
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Recommendations
• “Any provider that wants to launch VoIP
services in MEA should work with the local
telecom regulator or communications ministry
(or both). These providers should also consider
lobbying collectively for regulations that are
more conducive to the development of VoIP: a
slice of a shared VoIP market would be better
than none at all”
Gartner Dataquest, October 2002
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INTUG
Recommendations
• “Internet service providers should consider
offering VoIP services to increase both their
revenue and the loyalty of their subscribers.
Bundled packages of voice and Internet access
may prove appealing
• “Providers of IP virtual private networks should
evaluate what additional revenue they can make
by adding voice services to their basic offerings.
They may be able to charge a premium for a
specific class of service that meets the timesensitive needs of voice calls”
Gartner Dataquest, October 2002
Conclusion
INTUG
• VoIP and IP Telephony offer real benefits
– For operators
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– For new market entrants
– For users / consumers
• Regulatory and policy issues need resolution
• ITU and other international bodies favour large-scale
deployment
• Wholesale carriers offer quick start opportunities
• A massive opportunity to achieve universal access
across the African continent!
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INTUG
Thank you
Mike van den Bergh
Vice Chairman: Africa
International Telecommunications
Users Group
PO Box 3818
Randburg 2125
South Africa
Ewan Sutherland
Executive Director
International Telecommunications
Users Group
Reyerslaan 80
B-1030 Brussels
Belgium
+27 11 322 5495
+32.2.706.8255
[email protected]
http://www.intug.net
[email protected]
http://www.intug.net/ewan.html