The Inevitable Shift

Talking to people over Internet text chat platforms used be a novelty, a curious feature for an already very popular application. But “Internet phone calls” technically called as the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is now seen as the future of telecommunications. All over the world, telecommunication companies are investing billions of dollars in investments to lay down fiber-optic cables and network-support equipment to handle the new wave.

The size and magnitude of the Internet Protocol shift, the IP integration, has never been seen in the history of telecommunications. It is bigger in terms of investment and work than the integration of wireless communication. Never before has the communications industry seen as huge as shift since sea cables facilitated long-distance phone calls more than a century ago.

The reasons are simple yet complex. Internet Protocol networks enables not only phone calls but also data transmission through the same line. The prime example of this capability is in the 3G (third generation) phone handsets, which transmits not only SMS messaging, but also voice calls and video calls at practically the same cost for most networks. Internet Protocol networks also have higher quality, has relatively low maintenance cost (despite the staggering initial investment) and the same network can also integrate other services like wireless Internet.

But the shift is not easy. Most of the world’s telecommunication network is still on the analog stage. Shifting to Internet Protocol networks will not only require changing software platforms but changing entire network infrastructure as well from databases, backbone facilities and cellular sites scattered all over the countryside.

On the bigger scale, Internet Protocol networks cannot inter-connect with the old analog networks. Telecommunication companies in the world still debate whether it is viable to shift to Internet Protocol networks individually or they all sign an agreement that all of them shift to the new network all the same time. Some telecommunication companies are ready for the shift but many are having problems due to lack of funds, experts and support infrastructure.

Another challenge is the individual telephone units. The giants like Avaya, Cisco, Siemens or Nortel have been producing Internet Protocol network and 3G-capable phones but more manufacturers have to catch up. Many of these manufacturers left behind are very visible in small and developing countries in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.

Many analysts believe, however, the shift to Internet Protocol networks will happen and is just a matter of time. The biggest networks have already laid down their facilities, smaller networks in order to provide quality service to their customers must keep up to inter-connect. Or else, they will lose their clients.

Perhaps the biggest reason is Internet Protocol networks are just too good to resist. The ability to do not just voice calls and text messaging but video-calling and wireless Internet over your mobile phone is just too great that consumers will soon demand for it. The whole shift is now relying on technology, on when laboratories start creating affordable, mass-produced mobile hand sets that will make Internet Protocol networks a necessity for everyone, leaving telecommunications companies with no choice but to shift.