Internet Telephony Gaining Ground In India
Internet telephony is gaining ground in India, as prices head southwards and leading internet service providers (ISPs) expand their networks. According to the latest data by telecom regulator TRAI, the internet telephony market grew 15% in the quarter-ended September 2007, clocking up 129.43 million total minutes of usage as compared to 112.26 million minutes in the April-June 2007 quarter.
However, since these numbers do not take into account the players that operate without a license in India, the numbers may be closer to 250 million minutes according to ISP Association of India (ISPAI) president Rajesh Charia as mentioned in this article in the Economic Times.
Based on the growth so far, internet telephony could see usage in the range of 500-600 million minutes in 2007-08, a growth of 250-300%. As per Trai’s estimates, international long-distance operators (ILDOs) will account for about 3,478 million minutes of outgoing calls in 2006-07, equivalent to 14.3-17.2% of ILDO.
Currently, BSNL is estimated to have about 45.86% market share among ISPs while MTNL is ranked second with a 18.78% share.
With a WiMax mesh, it might just be a lot more cost effective to route all calls via the Internet - if the bandwidth holds up.
Filed under: Emerging Tech, India, News, Statistics