VoIP Over Municipal Wi-Fi
Telecom companies these days have VoIP to contend with from not one but two fronts. VoIP is already disrupting both landline and cell phone revenues, causing telcos to reduce their prices.
Now, with numerous cities and even countries pushing for either paid or free Municipal Wi-Fi, telcos also have to contend with the potential loss of revenues from their Internet Service Provider divisions. This isn't just an American problem, it's widespread, worldwide issue, even reaching the Pacific islands, which include Fiji, Micronesia, etc.
What's more, telcos now have to deal with the loss of revenues that will result from the use of VoIP over Muni WiFi. In fact, several cities are pushing for wireless VoIP services, including Taipei, Taiwan. American telcos could learn a thing or two from the Taipei WiFly/ EasyCall project. It's the collaboration of the city government and the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), and is overseen by several ITSPs (Internet Telephony Service Providers).
Traditional telcos should be thinking about modifying their offerings to become ITSPs and even collaborating with or buying out existing VoIP providers. Especially if other cities start thinking like the Taipei government, who are using wireless VoIP to replace their PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) for administrative offices and public schools. Their aim is to have 200,000 wireless VoIP phones by year's end.
Obviously, if Taipei pulls this off, and figure out how to handle e911 calls, especially when there are school children at risk, other cities are going to follow suit. And if telcos don't find a way to participate, there's going to be some explaining to do to shareholders. In fact, I'm a strong believer that telcos could play an important role in solving e911 technical issues. If you can't beat ITSPs, join'em.
Written by ewriter on July 7th, 2006 with
no comments.
Read more articles on Wireless and Networks and Services.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article