I recently met with an ISP that was very interested in offering Voice-over-IP
(VoIP) services. They currently sell digital subscriber line (DSL) data services
and compete by offering full-rate managed 1.5 Mbps DSL at half the cost of
unmanaged T1 services. Now, they want to go to the next frontier -- to offer
telephone services over DSL.
The CEO of this company was relating to me how strongly he felt about this
offering and the demand he sees, especially for customers with offices in
distant locations. He wanted to address this need with a DSL and VoIP
combination. In his search for a solution, he approached one of the well known
communication equipment companies (who will remain nameless here) and got a
quote for a legacy switch-based IP Centrex solution that could potentially meet
his needs. The price tag: A cool $15 million.
TALK IS CHEAP
There is a lot of talk about VoIP. Many now refer to is as Voice over X, where
you name the X -- DSL, T1, wireless, optical Ethernet, etc. While talk is cheap
and VoIP minutes are even cheaper, one thing is for sure: Many of the systems
needed to provide VoIP and the required technical teams to deploy it are not. In
many cases, the systems being offered to broadband carriers typically have many
drawbacks ranging from lack of proper VoIP standards support (true H.323 and
SIP, for example) to feature set, to scalability.
Bottom line: VoIP is complex. No matter what vendors tell you, it takes a lot
of money, time, and effort to make it work properly. This is especially true for
new VoIP services such as IP Centex, IP voice messaging, and e-commerce.
Products are evolving quickly and new standards are being ratified on what seems
like a daily basis. Most traditional and emerging communication carriers --
CLECs, ISPs, and BLECs -- don't have the bandwidth, personnel, or experience to
deploy and manage this emerging VoIP-based equipment. In fact, for many years
these carriers have been fed monolithic communication solutions -- i.e., legacy
circuit-switched solutions -- from a very select group of communications
equipment companies. These companies did everything for their customers: They
brought them the total solution, told them which people they had to hire, helped
them train those people, and sold them more services to maintain the very
expensive solutions they sold them originally.
THE VoIP ERECTOR SET
VoIP is poised as the solution for next-generation telecommunications. But a
great divide exists between the VoIP "gear" companies and the
broadband carriers that need to deploy VoIP telecom service offerings -- which
are needed to differentiate them in the highly competitive communication
services market. VoIP gear vendors are proud of their "erector set"
approach, which allows the broadband carriers to pick the media gateways,
softswitches, IP phones, and service creation tools of their choice. But this is
as confusing and risky to the broadband carrier as is the menu at the Tic-Toc
Diner: Too much to choose from and you really don't know what tastes good!
THE ROLE OF THE CASP
The communications ASP, or CASP, bridges this divide -- it has the network,
personnel, skills, resources, and in some cases, the technology, to offer the
broadband carrier the benefits of VoIP via "infrastructure services."
Infrastructure services allow a CLEC, ISP, and BLEC to buy the VoIP
telecommunication services they want and bundle them with their traditional
broadband data services. VoIP infrastructure services, instead of infrastructure
equipment, allow broadband carriers to quickly introduce new and enhanced
telecommunication services with zero infrastructure costs and minimal technology
risks. Additionally, the broadband carrier is also freed from scalability costs
and risks, a serious consideration in rolling out IP Centrex and similar VoIP
services.
The CASP is a new and emerging industry segment. Just as the ASP model helped
bring Internet e-mail, Web hosting, and other offerings more quickly to market,
the VoIP-based CASP promises to bring high-quality VoIP services more quickly to
the fast growing broadband market. The CASP allows broadband carriers to
transform into full-fledged Internet Communication Carriers (ICCs) that can
provide a wide range of services -- voice, data, and video -- with quality over
their broadband links.
ASK QUESTIONS -- NOT ALL CASPs ARE ALIKE
Be aware, not all VoIP CASPs are alike. When getting involved with a CASP, it is
only fair to ask how their network is designed to provide VoIP with high
quality, security, and reliability. Leading-edge CASPs are deploying networks
that are highly redundant and located in secure facilities with multiple power
sources, environmental management, and fire controls. Sophisticated CASPs
provide direct support of IP telephone appliances and allow the delivery of
media and content to such appliances.
CASPs allow broadband carriers to cross the "VoIP services divide"
more quickly and to offer traditional and enhanced VoIP services with less cost
and risk than otherwise possible.
Ralph Hayon is president and CEO of congruency, Inc., a Communications
Applications Service Provider (CASP). He can be reached at [email protected].
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