Should Telecoms Companies Be Worried about VoIP?
October 12th, 2008Tech execs are confident consumers will soon change how they make phone calls reducing the need for a phone service from a traditional provider. VoIP essentially turns telephone calls into just another piece of software running over an IP network, and due to this simplicity the future for VoIP seems pregnant with possibilites.
From the very start when Skype emerged on the scene the industry has been on fire. Google has entered the VoIP industry with an IM and voice application and is testing a wireless customer service that has the potential to deliver data to wireless devices.
The tech companies are already beginning to launch dual function products such as cameras which appear standard but when a person slides the back of the camera down, it reveals a full keyboard. Memory sticks that store from 64 megabytes to 1 gigabyte preloaded with a softphone are also now available. They come with a microphone and earphones.
Companies such as Google, Yahoo, and EarthLink have already played around with such technology. Last autumn Yahoo added improved VoIP calling to its Yahoo Messenger. Google has debuted Google Talk. AOL has told the world it would be offering its VoIP service called TotalTalk. AOL’s TotalTalk will essentially let people replace their traditional landlines. It has advanced communication features, such as unified voice, e-mail and instant messaging, and call-management.
It could be argued the phone companies will face a huge challenge with these drastic changes emerging with VoIP technology.
