Barriers to further deployment of VoIP
Any kind of unreliable communication systems pose substantial risk. Deployment of VoIP is no different as compared to any project. Network infrastructure plays a major role. The Network capacity and capability must be reviewed along with the Network requirements of VoIP. Let us see, what are the barriers for further deployment of VoIP?
Government regulations sometime play spoilsport. For example, in Philippines, non-telco providers are required to ride on telcos. VoIP service providers were supposed to pay Two Hundred thousand dollars as paid-up capital and post performance bonds worth Hundred thousand dollars. If a regulation forces VoIP to ride a telco infrastructure and spending dollars, does not make VoIP affordable.
Government regulations sometime play spoilsport. For example, in Philippines, non-telco providers are required to ride on telcos. VoIP service providers were supposed to pay Two Hundred thousand dollars as paid-up capital and post performance bonds worth Hundred thousand dollars. If a regulation forces VoIP to ride a telco infrastructure and spending dollars, does not make VoIP affordable.
Iowa have barred VoIP providers accessing telephone numbers. Alabama Public Service Commission was considering to regulate VoIP providers as transportation companies. California an wanted VoIP services be subjected to the supervision of the Public Utility Commission.
The prerogatives of regulators may slow down the development of any new technology, particularly, if they lack complete knowledge. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plays a major role. Unless VoIP is declared as an interstate service, VoIP will have an entry barrier.
The industry is undergoing constant pressure to invest in technological changes. The companies strive to win and maintain the customers. To make the customers happy and be loyal, the companies need to provide the appropriate and the best solutions to the customers. But most of these markets are also very capital intensive. This creates an entry barrier.
If a new company wants to enter VoIP segment and win over customers, they need to show much higher value than the customer’s current Service provider. Again this is related to the heavy investments leading to the entry barrier to the smaller player.
Lack of Knowledge of customers/ clients is another big entry barrier. You have come out with a great product and no one knows about it. It is in the interest of the product, the potential customers must be educated. Give them free downloads, presentations, road shows etc to come over the entry barriers.
Policy and Regulatory Framework
Voice services are subject to the telecommunications regulatory regime set out in the Telecommunications Act, the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 and Parts XIB and XIC of the Trade Practices Act 1974 apart from other subordinate regulatory instruments and self-regulatory industry codes, standards and guidelines.
VoIP services attract the classification as they come under ‘carriage service’, and ‘carriage service provider’ in the Telecommunications Act and ‘standard telephone service’ in the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act in certain countries, while others may not classify as so.
If a voice service is a carriage service for the purpose of voice and is used to provide ‘any-to-any’ connectivity like making calls to and/or receive calls, then it is considered a standard telephone service. Hence VoIP services connected to the public network fall under this definition of a standard telephone service and attract regulatory obligations. These Regulations may also cover emergency service access, Provision of CLI, Access to the NRS etc.
Many jurisdictions around the world like USA, UK, Japan, Korea, Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong etc have been and are examining the policy and regulatory framework for VoIP.
The United States treats VoIP service as computer-based ‘information services’ and seems it is relatively unregulated. The discussions are on to address emergency service access, legal interception, disability access and USO contributions.
Emergency service organizations like police, fire and ambulance are insisting that VoIP shall provide full functionality for emergency services.
Carriage service regulation requires compliance with the Numbering Plan, number portability requirements, requirements related to legal interception and/or provision of information to the IPND etc. These minimum obligations may have to be satisfied in the interest of consumer as well as the Nation.
It had been quite a long debate, as the traditional phone companies lost revenue to VoIP. The current regulatory framework may not present an unreasonable barrier to VoIP services. But, no one sure about the feature offered by VoIP in future and we will not be able to predict how the regulatory frameworks looks at that.
Hence, it helps if the VoIP product/technology providers keep all the concerned involved from the initial phases, the entry barriers can be taken care of.
Third Party VoIP Tools
The technology shall motivate companies to produce products that work in the technology in discussion. All major software thrives on the third party tools. When software becomes popular many companies /individuals bring out products that can leverage a specific feature and can piggy ride on the software. How many games are being developed for mobile phones? More the popularity of the software more third party tools and vice versa. This is a closed end – one leading to the other. So VoIP shall attract Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).
Skype made people look at VoIP very seriously. Innovative products like Skype are required to boost any new technology. Lack of enthusiasm to create third party tools may hamper the future deployments on VoIP.
Developer forums
It is very important to educate developers. As you go towards open source, more and more developers join to bring out desk top applications. Linux is a classic case. It evolve everyday. New features get added by day. The other side is MSDN of Microsoft. You create suite of software and then provide all the information needed to the programmers/developers.
In many cases, developers who are enthusiastic about software, may start their own community or forum. LISTSERVE and mailing lists create some enthusiasm. Currently, we find very few powerful forums on VoIP.
Poor Planning
This is typical of any project and applies to VoIP too. Any wrong calculation or over expectations or ability to see the failure before it happens are all critical.
Poor Call Quality
You may have observed a great quality of voice in the demo of the equipment. Then, when you install the same, it may be pathetic. This may be due to the fact that, the equipment may not deliver to the huge traffic. Hence, selecting proper equipment to cater to your load will be the key to your success. If the call setup delay is more than 4-5 sec, you will notice the telecommunication system crumbling.
Simulation and lab tests
Full load test may not be possible and it may be too late to test with actual load. VoIP network assessment tools may have to be used to simulate the traffic. Without this simulation, the chances of identifying the ‘bottle necks’ later may lead to the collapse of the entire network.
Keeping calibrated equipment calibrated!
We often take the calibrating equipment as ‘standard’. We buy the best from the best. And presume that it gives the accurate measurement. However, no one can guarantee that the ‘standard test equipment’ is accurate. Hence get these ‘standard’ test equipment need to get calibrated periodically. Else the simulation equipment may indicate that the VoIP network is fine, while it is crumbling.
Beware of Hidden Costs
You may have got the best offer for the VoIP equipment. Check all the aspects of pricing and scalability of equipment. For example, the routers designed to work at 64 kbps, could also work at 128 kbps. However, if you are upgrading the network to 512 kbps, the router will never work. Check with the suppliers about the monthly charges, upfront charges and the repair/upgrade charges.
Beware of Hackers
Any technology that gets popular attracts hackers. Online banking transactions are encrypted. Similarly, many websites encrypt the data, wherever they fear intrusions. VoIP Calls are not encrypted. This makes VoIP susceptible for hacking. ‘Cain and Able’ is already in circulation which is designed to intercept VoIP calls.
Policy and Regulatory Framework
Voice services are subject to the telecommunications regulatory regime set out in the Telecommunications Act, the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 and Parts XIB and XIC of the Trade Practices Act 1974 apart from other subordinate regulatory instruments and self-regulatory industry codes, standards and guidelines.
VoIP services attract the classification as they come under ‘carriage service’, and ‘carriage service provider’ in the Telecommunications Act and ‘standard telephone service’ in the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act in certain countries, while others may not classify as so.
If a voice service is a carriage service for the purpose of voice and is used to provide ‘any-to-any’ connectivity like making calls to and/or receive calls, then it is considered a standard telephone service. Hence VoIP services connected to the public network fall under this definition of a standard telephone service and attract regulatory obligations. These Regulations may also cover emergency service access, Provision of CLI, Access to the NRS etc.
Many jurisdictions around the world like USA, UK, Japan, Korea, Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong etc have been and are examining the policy and regulatory framework for VoIP.
The United States treats VoIP service as computer-based ‘information services’ and seems it is relatively unregulated. The discussions are on to address emergency service access, legal interception, disability access and USO contributions.
Emergency service organizations like police, fire and ambulance are insisting that VoIP shall provide full functionality for emergency services.
Carriage service regulation requires compliance with the Numbering Plan, number portability requirements, requirements related to legal interception and/or provision of information to the IPND etc. These minimum obligations may have to be satisfied in the interest of consumer as well as the Nation.
It had been quite a long debate, as the traditional phone companies lost revenue to VoIP. The current regulatory framework may not present an unreasonable barrier to VoIP services. But, no one sure about the feature offered by VoIP in future and we will not be able to predict how the regulatory frameworks looks at that.
Hence, it helps if the VoIP product/technology providers keep all the concerned involved from the initial phases, the entry barriers can be taken care of.
Third Party VoIP Tools
The technology shall motivate companies to produce products that work in the technology in discussion. All major software thrives on the third party tools. When software becomes popular many companies /individuals bring out products that can leverage a specific feature and can piggy ride on the software. How many games are being developed for mobile phones? More the popularity of the software more third party tools and vice versa. This is a closed end – one leading to the other. So VoIP shall attract Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).
Skype made people look at VoIP very seriously. Innovative products like Skype are required to boost any new technology. Lack of enthusiasm to create third party tools may hamper the future deployments on VoIP.
Developer forums
It is very important to educate developers. As you go towards open source, more and more developers join to bring out desk top applications. Linux is a classic case. It evolve everyday. New features get added by day. The other side is MSDN of Microsoft. You create suite of software and then provide all the information needed to the programmers/developers.
In many cases, developers who are enthusiastic about software, may start their own community or forum. LISTSERVE and mailing lists create some enthusiasm. Currently, we find very few powerful forums on VoIP.
Poor Planning
This is typical of any project and applies to VoIP too. Any wrong calculation or over expectations or ability to see the failure before it happens are all critical.
Poor Call Quality
You may have observed a great quality of voice in the demo of the equipment. Then, when you install the same, it may be pathetic. This may be due to the fact that, the equipment may not deliver to the huge traffic. Hence, selecting proper equipment to cater to your load will be the key to your success. If the call setup delay is more than 4-5 sec, you will notice the telecommunication system crumbling.
Simulation and lab tests
Full load test may not be possible and it may be too late to test with actual load. VoIP network assessment tools may have to be used to simulate the traffic. Without this simulation, the chances of identifying the ‘bottle necks’ later may lead to the collapse of the entire network.
Keeping calibrated equipment calibrated!
We often take the calibrating equipment as ‘standard’. We buy the best from the best. And presume that it gives the accurate measurement. However, no one can guarantee that the ‘standard test equipment’ is accurate. Hence get these ‘standard’ test equipment need to get calibrated periodically. Else the simulation equipment may indicate that the VoIP network is fine, while it is crumbling.
Beware of Hidden Costs
You may have got the best offer for the VoIP equipment. Check all the aspects of pricing and scalability of equipment. For example, the routers designed to work at 64 kbps, could also work at 128 kbps. However, if you are upgrading the network to 512 kbps, the router will never work. Check with the suppliers about the monthly charges, upfront charges and the repair/upgrade charges.
Beware of Hackers
Any technology that gets popular attracts hackers. Online banking transactions are encrypted. Similarly, many websites encrypt the data, wherever they fear intrusions. VoIP Calls are not encrypted. This makes VoIP susceptible for hacking. ‘Cain and Able’ is already in circulation which is designed to intercept VoIP calls.
Typically, VoIP relies on Firewalls or any other measures used by ISP and VoIP providers. Using encryption is still in the "concept stage” and is likely to take some time. It is advisable to have a Firewall installed on your network, either at home or at office. Many existing Broadband routers offer some protection. Check with the hardware vendor.
As VoIP get popular and more software is developed, the vulnerabilities will be noticed and exploited by the hackers. Softphone may attract Trojan horse virus specialists to create a look alike user interface and collect vital information from you and your machine. It does not mean that you stop using Softphone. Be alert. In fact, we can not plan for a product which is hacker-free.


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