WhichVoIP.co.za goes FREE

WhichVoIP.co.za goes FREE!

WhichVoIP.co.za, South Africa’s largest VoIP research, reporting and comparison website now offers all their services at no charge to web users.

Through a research report and comparison tool on the site, users are able to evaluate providers, and produce an accurate quotation that features an ROI (return on investment) calculation with indicative fixed and variable costs for each chosen VoIP provider; in order to effectively investigate and evaluate VoIP technology in South Africa.

WhichVoIP.co.za then facilitates the introduction between provider and customer, completing the cycle from investigation to contact.

“Our aim is to become the major resource for all things VoIP in South Africa”, said Mitchell Barker, founder of www.whichvoip.co.za

“The use of the World Wide Web is a common place in obtaining information when making purchasing decisions and therefore, we decided to make all of the services available at no cost to our audience. We want people to know that we are serious about delivering on what the market needs.”

Aside from the reports, WhichVoIP.co.za brings all disparate VoIP information and news relevant to South Africa together, through an easy to navigate interface, presented in a manner which aims to take the guesswork out of the technology; as well as who is offering what in the market.

WhichVoIP.co.za has enjoyed organic growth over the past few months, and have an exciting roadmap planned in terms of site functionality going forward.

“We currently have over 25 common VoIP providers on the site, and we’re growing rapidly. We invite other VoIP providers to follow, engage with us to see what opportunities are available for partnering with us.”

http://www.whichvoip.co.za/index.php?option=com_blog&view=comments&pid=165&Itemid=6

VoIP is a Commodity

VoIP 2.0 – Part 1

VoIP is a commodity. Don’t believe me? I would be surprised to hear of a company who hasn’t been offered this technology in one form or another. I mean really, hard VoIP users topped the 100m mark based on Research conducted in UK and released in 2010. In South Africa, Bred pre 2005 -legalized then, 6 years on, and VoIP is more of a topical subject today than ever before.

The only difference now is that VoIP has a new face. There used to be a clear distinction between VoIP, IP Telephony and Unified Communications. Going forward, its going to be about Users (not devices) and Applications (not Features).

I am terming this piece as VoIP 2.0 with the intent of highlighting what I believe to be ‘Survival mode for VoIP’. Those not moving with the times will struggle to retain their customers until they can wrap enough value around what it is they are offering. The market is ready for Providers to step up to the plate.

So what trends in this “2 dot 0” acronym? In my view, the “2.0” wave is about Innovation, to continue re-inventing yourself, focus on changing the user experience, and adding value to your customers by addressing their individual and specific communication requirements. Fundamentally, The normal VoIP Value Proposition just doesn’t cut it anymore.

VoIP 2.0 is not going to be about Cheap Minutes - VoIP 2.0 is going to be about Application. Cheap(er) minutes will be the value-add and not the primary reason for adoption of the technology.

A few examples of this could be (or a few examples of VoIP Applied, versus VoIP LCR (Least Cost Routing)

Connectivity via VoIP = Commodity.            
Survivability through VoIP = Application.

VoIP onto Cellphones = Commodity.             
Mobility, Single Number Identity, Always being Contactable = Application.

VoIP conferencing = Commodity.                      
Managed and Recorded Conferencing, Voice and Video; with Collaboration between users – on the fly = Application.

Customers have started to realize that Productivity gains, Improved Efficiency, and Seamless Contactability through VoIP are now tangible measurables. This isn’t “pie in the sky” stuff anymore. Unified Communications can be ‘general’ technology, but when mapped into a customer’s organization in a way that positively affects how that company does business – well that’s then you start to realize these benefits.

The Key differentiators in a market with these dynamics will be experience, and flexibility. I would like to think that there aren’t too many Major providers that bring both to the Market. Understanding who is and who will be positioned in the future - One thing is for sure – I don’t foresee more than a small handful of players in the next 3 years. Simply said, the Mammoths will continue to growth, certainly through acquisition of smaller players.

However, this doesn’t mean that those will be the only identities in the market. Building, Licensing, and Managing a VoIP Network simply isn’t a viable option anymore. Interconnect Agreements and Network Licenses are hard to come by, they’re expensive, and they eat away at the bottom line. This will present an opportunity for smaller companies to get involved and provision white-label services from the Major operators.

We will see an abundance of New Age technologies backed by Carrier Class Networks in many forms - VoIP driven applications and Business Models that will take us into the New Era, such as Hosted PBX as a Premise Based alternative, the move to open applications embedded into Common Interfaces which will tie in with Mobility, and last but certainly not least, Integration with common Business Applications.

At the end of the day, VoIP Providers need to start changing in an adapt or die Comms world. The next wave of Communications is on us, and in our Market, we’re seeing a lot more Small Businesses with Big Business requirements.

Carrier pre-select regulations delayed

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has pushed back implementation of phase one of carrier pre-select (CPS) regulations to 30 November, more than a year after final regulations were published.

Last September, ICASA finalised the regulations, which will allow consumers to choose which operator they want to use to carry a call. However, ICASA says in a statement that actual CPS will now only kick off in November.

According to Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, fixed-line operators had to provide CPS within two months of the regulations coming into effect, while mobile operators have to provide CPS within four months of the first request being received.

Carrier pre-select has been in the pipeline since December 2008, when ICASA issued draft regulations and invited public comment.

ICASA says it engaged with the industry on progress of the implementation of phase one and decided to “develop an industry-led CPS code of conduct/practice to be completed in September 2011”.
A general notice containing full details of these developments will be published in the Government Gazette in due course, it says.

More choice

The purpose of CPS regulations is to promote competition by giving end-users the ability to choose which telecommunications carrier they prefer when making calls, ICASA says.

In practice, the regulations will allow a Telkom customer, for example, to select Neotel to carry a particular call, potentially benefiting from better rates. Consumers will choose which operator to use by first dialling an access code when calling a number.

Globally, regulations governing CPS have been accompanied by local loop unbundling (LLU), a highly-contested and long-awaited development in the local telecoms market.

LLU has been on the cards for the past decade, but has yet to become a reality in SA. In May 2007, then communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri set a 2011 deadline to free the last mile, a commitment the department repeated last November.

ICASA recently released a discussion document on LLU. The regulator says it will have regulations in place by November to facilitate open access to the last mile.

- ITWeb
http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=154:it-governance-and-risk-management