September 03, 2005
Service providers, consider these facts before starting a VoIP service
The target markets for VoIP service providers include residentials, SOHO, SMB, and enterprises. Each of these markets has distinct requirements that a service provider can try to address in order to acquire long-term customers. Residentials look for cheaper local / long distance calls and PC / mobile integration. SOHOs require service assurance and PC / mobile integration. SMBs need corporate features at reduced expenses. Enterprises want consistency of service across their offices and the flexibility to outsource their network management. In the US, 50 million homes and up to 55% of the adult population has access to broadband Internet, almost all the SMBs have high-speed Internet connectivity, and VoIP line shipments to the businesses are as high as TDM line shipments . These factors indicate a rapid acceptance of VoIP and underscore the need to select the target market segment intelligently. For service providers, capital and operating costs are major factors in deciding whether to build or buy the VoIP solutions. A managed solution does not offer a great deal of network control and options in product packaging; however, it does enable quicker deployment of systems that have been proven. IP PBXs have several drawbacks that VoIP service providers can capitalize on. IP PBXs are fast becoming technologically obsolete and sometimes require periodic hardware upgrades, the user interface is not very convenient and requires at least a fortnight's training, IP PBXs cannot interface smoothly with equipment from other vendors. Selecting the right distribution channel for VoIP can be a trifle tricky as indirect channels need to learn more about this new service and direct distribution is not a very cost-effective solution. By offering a cost saving in the range of 10% - 30%, service providers can hope to make inroads into the TDM market, in fact SMBs have evinced a strong interest in VoIP upon being offered cost savings of 15%. A service provider should try and leverage the expertise of the network and software vendors that he may work with. They should back their service with dependable SLAs and assist in testing and providing media gateways, customer premise equipment (CPE), etc so that the service provider is up to date with the latest applications available in the market. Before graduating from the pilot stage and going live, a service provider needs to ensure redundancy of the production systems; media servers, network connectivity and other supporting equipment should be tested; User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and troubleshooting procedures should be in place. Since VoIP is unlike a traditional data service and it is different from a conventional voice service, it has its own peculiar engineering issues such as Local Number Portability (LNP); 911, e911, and 800 services; corporate CLEC procedures; call flows; etc. These can be tackled with the expertise available in-house or by partnering vendors.
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