US surfers vote for converged voice services
/v3-uk/news/1979433/us-surfers-vote-converged-voice-services
30 Oct 2007, Robert Jaques , V3
US broadband consumers have an "overwhelming preference" for converged voice services which integrate mobile and fixed communications, market watchers reported today.
A recent In-Stat survey of US broadband households found that consumers strongly favour buying all household comms services from a single provider.
Public service telephone network voice services are the least valued of all household communication services, but a significant proportion of service bundle consumers would migrate to another supplier to obtain converged voice services.
"Operators need not wait for full fixed/mobile network convergence, because all the necessary technology is available today," said In-Stat analyst Keith Nissen.
"All it will take is for one major service provider to embrace converged voice services, and the voice communications market will be forever changed."
In-Stat estimates that converged voice services could be generating over $8.6bn annually in the US by 2011, and claimed that the idea appeals to consumers of all ages, even those currently using mobile-only voice services.
Do you agree?
Misleading Article
This article is a bit misleading. It suggests that consumers have a choice when selecting such services. That is not the case. Often carriers are granted exclusive rights to an area, or the number of carriers are limited. Such arrangements allow local governments to charge higher franchise fees.
Then the incumbent carrier prices the bundled services in such a manner that it is not advantageous to have services from competing suppliers or resellers.
So it's not really a matter of choice - it's a matter of force.
Posted by Ed Mann, 30 Oct 2007