26 September 2005
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony is the future of the home telephone, according to an influential telecoms executive.
Benny Last, managing director of telecoms firm IDT Europe, told a carriers' conference in London that VoIP would change the face of traditional home telephone services, and that in order to compete, traditional providers "will need to make additions to their service offerings beyond voice".
Industry journal the Register also quotes Mr Last as saying: "Enhanced offerings will include Internet broadband access, media, IPTV [TV over the internet], online gaming, messaging...as well as 'next gen' services. They must enhance their service offerings because that is precisely what VoIP makes possible."
"While the size of VoIP traffic and underlying service provider networks may currently be modest, and the industry refers to VoIP deployment as 'evolutionary' rather than 'revolutionary', VoIP is acquiring significant mindshare all over the world," Mr Last added.
He concluded: "VoIP is here, and it is not going away. We are in the midst of an explosive change in the way people use technology."
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