IP Telephony experts share their perspective on where IP Telephony is headed, and when we can expect it to get there. TMCnet.com offers a sneak preview of the Internet Telephony Conference & Expo panel discussion, as well as some comments from IP Telephony industry leaders.

 

From John Meyer, President of Lucent Worldwide Services

 

IP Telephony is enjoying quite a resurgence.  Have we accomplished what we set out to do? Has VoIP arrived?
While IP Telephony is being deployed and gaining acceptance, we still have a long way to go to realize the true value of VoIP and in a broader sense convergence.  VoIP is much more than voice.  It�s multimedia messaging, text messaging, video and data.  VoIP and convergence is a reality for most CIOs, but in order for VoIP to gain complete acceptance and full deployment, we must solve issues facing the rapid deployment of VoIP�from cost benefits to Quality of Service (QoS).

 

What are some of the specific steps the industry needs to take in order to ensure continued growth and user adoption of IP Telephony? What are some potential pitfalls and how should they be avoided?  
The best way to ensure growth is provide the highest quality IP Telephony solutions at the right cost and feature benefits.  The industry needs to do a better job improving the Quality of Service and benefits of moving to next-gen VoIP networks.  One of the potential pitfalls I see in the industry is holding up IP Voice as the driving reason for migrating away from TDM-based networks.  IP Telephony is only the first step in much more powerful story.  True convergence needs to be the message for all network executives and managers.  For convergence is much more than voice, it�s Value over IP�It�s the convergence of voice/video/data, and the convergence of wireline and wireless.  Only then will we realize the full potential and power of moving to IP telephony.

 

Describe your vision of the Future of IP Telephony.
IP telephony will be the definitive mode of voice communications in the near future However, the real benefit of this migration to VoIP is the migration of all communications on to a single platform allowing the ubiquitous transference of multimedia communications across the world, both tethered and untethered. Lucent's view is the migration of all networks onto a common platform � IMS or IP Multimedia Subsystem - In the world of true convergence the network is brought to the end user (rather than you going to the network) and in a manner that is seamless, simple, personal, portable and presence aware. So in essence, service delivery will be what we call access agnostic. Whether you're sitting at home using DSL, at your desk at work, on a 2G or 3G access network or at a hot spot in wi-max, we are going to provide a seamless experience across voice, data, and video, wireline and wireless networks.

I think that's critical to understand because it's about the end user. Advances in technology as well as scale, especially those in the area of IP, create the opportunity for industry to deliver what we call blended lifestyle services. This is truly the future of VoIP and convergence.

 

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From Evan Chapman, Director of Field Communications, Avaya

 

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From Simon McIver, Senior Director, Enterprise Solutions, Net2Phone Corporate Communications

 

Where is VoIP headed?
We see the future of communications as VoIP enabling the communication through multiple networks including cable, DSL, Wifi and wireline technologies worldwide.

At Net2Phone we have always seen VoIP as more than simply phone service, rather as the conduit to convergence. Service providers today, whether they are high-speed data, cable operator or traditional phone service, are all integrating or looking to integrate VoIP into their networks. While they all recognize that in order to remain competitive they must offer bundled services, many do not have the knowledge and expertise to voice-enable their data networks.

In light of that statement, what do you see as the primary need as it relates to VoIP?
There is a global need for VoIP enablers. At this point we see a void in the market for those small and mid sized service providers looking to add VoIP to their mix of products, yet they do not have the size or resources to tackle such an immense undertaking. At Net2Phone, we have established ourselves as the go-to VoIP service provider for other service providers. Our operator partners have been able to deploy VoIP quickly and efficiently, experiencing success with their bundled service rollouts.

Do you think that it is customers that are driving the migration to VoIP, or service providers just looking to keep up with each other?
Firstly, at this point it is pretty much accepted that to remain competitive, service providers must offer VoIP. As for who is driving the migration, it is a little of both. Many small operators have to integrate VoIP in order to remain competitive with their larger counter parts. But in the end, it is consumers and enterprises that are buying these services.

More consumers know what you are talking about when you say 'VoIP', or at least are familiar with the concept of cable telephony and other forms of VoIP. Often now instead of consumers making VoIP phone calls without their knowledge, VoIP is a marketing tool used to attract new customers to a service.

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From Charles Henderson, Senior Director of Product Line Management for EADS TELECOM

Where is VoIP headed?
Conversion of digital and analog telephones to IP phones is inevitable. Timeframes will vary by individual company or organization and the complete transition may take many years. Companies will evaluate ROI on a case by case basis, and start using productivity and performance increases as the driver of the decision process in addition to the important TCO metrics that were primary in early adoption. Another driver may be other technologies like VoIP trunking from the carriers.

What about the growth of international VoIP?
VoIP growth will vary based on the level of country IP infrastructure and company IT investments. We are seeing something similar to what happened with Wireless versus Wireline in countries where data networks were given precedence over telephone networks such as Eastern Europe and South America. Long distance telephony is already using VoIP and complete takeover should be very fast.

Will anything slow SIP down?
SIP is the standard, and it is in the “hype” phase. There is the typical over estimation of the benefits and the payback. Despite the presence of most vendors in the SIP space there are few truly interoperable systems and applications. The challenge slowing down real adoption is the lack of consistent implementation of the standards and the proliferation of extensions (standards based or proprietary). In addition, unaddressed security aspects could also slow SIP down.

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From Micaela Giuhat, AVP Global Services for Netrake

Where is VoIP headed?
VoIP is headed to the Mass market. VoIP phones will be the only ones available in a few years and be found at stores such as Radio Shack, Best Buy, etc.  VoIP will become synonymous with regular telephone service.

What market is growing fastest, consumer, enterprise or service provider?
They are all inter-related. The service provider spending will increase in the next year, given the fact that for so many years now they have not invested in their networks. With that, and added competition from the new comers such as Vonage, all other markets will boom.

When will e911 get resolved?
e911 will be resolved soon. There are ways of solving this problem today, but require a bit of a different approach.

What will peer to peer technology do to the market?
It will push the services to the edge, increasing the value of terminal devices, and decreasing the added value services that service providers push. 

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